The only move is forward
by BlackBlaze
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki's body has been buried, and yet some say that he's still alive, just not where he should be. In a village so far that many from the Leaf villagers have never even heard of it, a young, nameless, memoryless boy has appeared. Sequel to LMWIG
1. ENTER: Nitis

**The only move is forward**

**Probationary Arc**

**ENTER: Nitis**

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* * *

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A young, blonde headed boy stared out in front of him, his body bare. His cerulean eyes filled with wonder at the overwhelming size of the door that stood before him. When the door started to creak open, the sound of terror flooded out in the form of screams that he had never heard. It poured out like water in the form of darkness. "Wh-what is this?!" He said as he backed up a little.

He turned to run in the other direction, the direction of a white void, but was yanked back by a black, rusty chain that was connected to his neck like a collar. "W-wait! This wasn't here before… No… NO!"

He was slowly being dragged towards the door. The mere thought of it made his entire being shiver with fear. "What is that?" He whispered.

**"It's hell…"**A deep and loud voice boomed from overhead.

"Hell? But… what did I ever do to go there?" The boy asked in a fearful yell.The voice chucked.

**"You yourself did nothing, but the demon within has, and his destination is through the Gates of Hell. You were just unfortunate to be dragged down with him." **

The boy was so close to the gate now that he could feel his entire body burning, freezing, being electrocuted, and being crushed all at once… and he hadn't even passed through the gates yet. "I… I don't want to!" He cried out, tears falling from his eyes. "Pl- ease…" His eyes stared in horror as he looked at his new destination… his new home. "No…" He choked out softly as the flames of hell started to consume him.

* * *

Thunder rolled across the forest as lightning spilt the dark sky. The trees were blanketed by the dark midnight air as wild winds ripped through their branches. 

As another bolt of lightning raced across the sky, a body was lit up. There was not one article of clothing on his wet body except for a dirty headband that he held in his hand. His long, tangled hair, which was covered with mud, was plastered to his face. His lifeless blue eyes lit up in the dark as he panted and struggled to get up.

After he finally managed to drag himself up off the muddy ground, he spotted a dark gray material flapping in the wind. It looked like some sort of tarp that was snagged on a branch. The boy stumbled towards the tarp and ripped it from its spot. Slowly, he tossed it over his wet form and covered his body, so that nothing was showing that shouldn't have been.

The boy shivered as he walked blindly through the trees and shrubs. He tried pulling the tarp around his body to get warmer, but it wasn't working. He was given another second of light to see where he was going. _An opening…_ There was a small clearing just feet in front of him. As he started towards the clearing, his foot became entangled in something and he crashed down onto the ground. His head smacked against a small boulder and his dark world became even darker.

**

* * *

**

"Well guys, this was another successful mission. When we get back we can all go out to eat…… My treat." A tall man, in his late thirties or early forties, said to a group of teenagers behind him.

"Yeah!" The three teenagers yelled, throwing their hands up into the air. The man ran a hand through his messy brown hair. It was held up by an orange headband with a triangle on it. Around each of the flat sides was a single line coming outward. His green eyes were content with his surroundings. He wore a gray coat with a thin, wavy maroon line separating the small amount of light brown, and then a maroon collar. On his right shoulder was a red spiral. He wore brown baggy pants and black boots.

Directly behind him was a girl around thirteen, her long mauve hair was held up in a ponytail. Her two sections of bangs were parted just enough to show her green blue eyes. The bangs were grown down to her cheeks. She wore a set of small, silver looped earrings, and then a pair of red studs above those. She wore a bright golden yellow long-sleeved shirt that closed in the front. The edges were trimmed with red, and there was a unique design around the button holding her shirt together. Around her neck was an orange headband with the same symbol as her Sensei's. She had on black kakis and orange sandals.

To her left was a boy of about fourteen. He had messy olive green hair and stunning purple eyes. His orange headband was too, around his neck, only he wore his upside down. He wore a white hooded jacket, with a dark teal hood, and a violet line going across his chest, and one on both of his shoulders running down to the cuffs. The zipper was black and surrounded by a small section of light blue. He was wears baggy white pants with a violet line running down the sides of each pant leg. His boots are the same dark teal color of his hood.

And to the right of her was another boy who was about fourteen. He looked quite strange. Not because of his bright red hair, that was put into a high ponytail, with his short bangs barely hanging above his eyes. It wasn't that his orange headband was too, around his neck, turned slightly to the side. Not even his light blue, long-sleeved shirt, or the small light blue t-shirt vest that was pretty short and not strapped together. It was his eyes. They were yellow, and they creeped most people out. His pants were dark blue and he wore black sandals.

As they walked down the muddy trail towards a clearing, the girl chatted with her green haired teammate. "Lucas! Where should we make Sensei take us? I think we should hit the nice restaurants this time."

"I really don't know Ferra. Hey Hiro! Where should…we… Where'd he go?" The green haired boy said as he looked around his female partner.

Their sensei, who had been walking with his arms behind his head, tilted his head to see what was going on. "Hmm?" He let his arms fall to his sides as he looked around for his student. "Hiroshi?"

"Hey Hiro! Where'd you go?!" Ferra yelled, amplifying her voice by placing her hands around her mouth. She dropped her hands. "I don't get it… Hiro was right next to me just a few moments ago!" She wined. She watched as her sensei looked into the trees.

"I think I found him…but…" He started to push his way through the weeds and branches. Lucas and Ferra soon followed him until they came upon Hiro digging into his pack. Next to him, lying unconscious, was a boy.

"Hiroshi?" The man asked.

"I just saw him, and he was just lying here. He's still alive, but… The tarp is the only thing he's got on." This stopped Ferra from almost pulling the tarp off. She giggled and put her hand behind her head as she straitened back up. She looked over at her sensei, who was checking the boy's face over. "He doesn't want to wake up for some reason."

"He looks cute, like Tadashi." Ferra said as she got right in the unconscious boy's face. "Maybe he's under a spell! And to break the spell he has to be kissed by someone!" She smiled. "Get down there, Keru Sensei." She giggled, but only before she was hit in the head by the man. His face was very serious as he spoke.

"I don't find that the least bit funny young lady. If your going to be a smartass about it, then you do it." He smirked. He knew that she was just kidding about it all. Even the spell. His mouth dropped when she kissed the boy on the forehead. "I was… just kidding, Ferra." He sighed.

"Look, he's waking up." Lucas and Hiro said as they pointed to the boy. The brunette opened his eyes and looked into the deep blue eyes of the boy on the ground.

"Well I'll be damned. Maybe he was under a spell…" He muttered. "Are you ok boy?" The boy just looked around and sat up. Luckily the tarp still cover his lower body. Around his neck was a necklace with a blue crystal on it. It was the only thing he was wearing. "Yeah… yeah…you really need some cloths, don't you." He looked at his team.

"I would let him borrow mine, but uh…" Ferra said, pulling out a tight purple top and dark red shorts, the cloths that she usually would sleep in.

"I don't bring spare cloths." Lucas said. Ferra gave him a scandalized look.

"Not even underwear!" She asked.

He placed his arms behind his head and looked away. "Nope." Ferra then started to yell at him, screaming about bad hygiene, and about how disgusting that was. He had to cover his head so that he wasn't subjected to a concussion. "Dude, I'm not a girl. I don't have to change my cloths three times a day!"

"Maybe you should! You know you can get sick from not being clean!" The mauve haired girl said.

"Actually… being too clean can make you sick as well." Hiro said, appearing next to his friends. This startled the two fighting ninjas. "Luckily, I always bring spare cloths with me when we leave the village." The boy, who was now clothed appropriately, walked out from behind a set of trees wearing Hiro's faded, and ripped, burnt orange sweat pants. He was also wearing a baggy white shirt. He started to fall, but Keru caught him.

"I guess that bump on your head is more than just something to stare at, huh. Looks like you've gone and hurt your ankle as well." He bent down. "I'll carry you to our village and get you some help, ok?" The boy just stood there for a minute before he climbed onto the man's back. "Alright guys, lets keep going."

"Right!"

As the group walked on, Ferra continued to try and get the boy to talk. "So what's your name?" She waited for a minute before poking him in the side. He turned his head and looked at her. "Did you hear me? I just wanna know your name…" He looked at her like she was a strange creature trying to do a trick. His mouth was slightly open, gaping at her. She crossed her arms and looked in the other direction. "You try to be nice and this is what happens!"

Lucas laughed at her and this bought him a ticket for a kick in the shin. "Ow! What's your problem! Don't take your woman problems out on me!"

"Boy! You haven't seen me with woman problems yet! You try to get him to say something then…" She stomped off farther ahead, muttering something.

"I wouldn't want to talk to a banshee, either." He muttered. Keru glanced at him, signaling that he could hear him.

"I would try and choose your words more carefully if I were you, Luc. And besides, The boy seems to be pretty tired, and I'm betting he has some sort of concussion… Look, he's already back to sleep."

"But where did he come from? What's he doing walking around without any cloths on?" Hiro asked. As the team of four discussed the topic of the boy, they almost didn't realize that they had walked right into their country, the land of Void.

The land was fairly bare, the grass was dying, sporting its new color of yellow and brown. The trees had lost all of their leaves, and now the area looked like they were walking into a scary movie. The sun had started to set when they came upon their village gates. "We're home, guys-"

"Yeah! We're back to our village hidden in the Abyss!" Ferra exclaimed. They walked through the gates, but were stopped by two Chunin who were watching the gate.

"Keru… Who is that on your back." The red haired man demanded.

"Don't worry about it. He's being taken to the hospital to be checked over." Keru said lazily.

"What if he's a spy-"

"Are you kidding Koteka… what spy is this cute?!" Ferra demanded. She started to yell at her cousin. Finally he let the group go, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "So Sensei… When are we going out to eat? Will Tadashi and Ashton be there?!" She asked.

He chuckled. "No Ferra… It'll just be us. I have to see Kalari about the mission and I have to get this guy to the hospital incase he is seriously injured. Then we can go out to eat." He smiled and continued to walk towards the hospital. "But you guys go home and get cleaned up… I'll come get you later."

"Yeah Lucas! Go take a few showers and put some clean underwear on!" Ferra's voice echoed throughout the area, causing people to stare at the boy who's face was red.

**

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**

Keru was patiently waiting for the boy's results before he left. It hadn't taken too long before the nurse walked out. "Well Keru, It looks like it was just a bump, nothing serious. He can go home with you, if you want. Just make sure he doesn't hit his head again. His ankle will be fine, just a small sprain. Don't let him stand on it very much today and it'll be fine by tomorrow. But… He won't speak at all."

"Oh really." His voice was very flat.

"Yes. Well, have a good day." She smiled and walked away.

"She's so weird…" He muttered as he walked to the room he had dropped the boy off in. He was just sitting there, kicking his legs on the edge of the bed. "Are you ready to go? I have to check in with my boss, and then hopefully she'll find you a place to stay." The boy nodded and slid off of the bed.

"Hey kid, I'm sorry if Ferra and Lucas scared you… they tend to scare most of the people we meet at first." He looked next to see that the boy just continued to stare out strait in front of him. "Um… ok. Can you talk, or were you just trying to ignore Ferra?" The boy didn't respond. "Hmm… Well, maybe Kalari can help you." He sighed as they walked on.

They walked into a fairly large building with people coming and going. They passed many doors, and even climbed a few stairs before Keru knocked on a door. "Come in." He turned the door knob and pushed the wooden door open, revealing a fairly large room.

A woman glanced over a sheet of paper revealing her dark blue eyes. The rest of the woman's face was hidden behind the piece of paper that she was scanning over. Her long, wavy midnight blue hair was all that could be seen along with her eyes. "Keru! You finished a day early! Good job. And it's nice to see you too, Tadashi." She went back to reading her paper.

Keru looked down at the boy. His hair was caked with dirt and dried mud. It did look brown, if you overlooked the matted look it took on. He still didn't know what color the child's hair was. "Um… Kalari? This isn't Tadashi." The woman, Kalari, looked up quickly. She got up, walked over to him, and started to circle him. "Hiroshi found him unconscious. I took him to the hospital, but he just has a bump on his head and a minor sprain. The only thing is-"

"He won't talk?" She finished.

"What? How did you know?!" He exclaimed.

"Look into his eyes. They have no life to them. Like he's been dead for a long time and is just waking up. I bet he doesn't have any of his memories. I'm sure he'll talk in time. You know… Keru. He's acting the same way you did, when Kanda found you." She pointed out to her brother-in-law.

"Hmm… So, what are we going to do. We can't just cast him out into the streets."

"You're right, like usual. Well, I can't take him, because I'm always here. And I'm sure Ashton wouldn't look after him because of that attitude of his. Plus he's always on missions, like Tadashi…" She looked out her window overlooking the village, her index finger resting on her chin. "But… _you _have a spare room in that lovely house of yours, and Kanda stays home for the most part-"

"Kalari. I don't think that she would like me bringing a strange boy home."

"Why not?! She had no problem bringing _you_ home when she found your half dead carcass of a body." He didn't have much to say after that. "Besides, she has had practice getting non-talkative people to speak, and even getting their memories to come back a little. Maybe she can help him."

He crossed his arms and looked off to the side, his lips in their fish form. "I should have known you'd do this to me. I bet Tadashi and Kanda don't even take to him."

"Why not? He looks so much like Tadashi, and yourself… now that I look at his face closer. I can see why I mistook him for my lovable nephew."

"Yeah yeah… What ever." He grumbled as he turned the boy around and walked out of the head ninja's office.

As they walked down the street, Keru started to explain things about his house and his family. "Kanda is my wife, and that other woman's sister. She was a high ranking ninja until she had our son. She retired after that."

"My son, Tadashi, he's probably a year or two older that yourself. He's a Chunin, that's a ninja level. Like I'm a Jonin, an elite ninja. The kids I was with today, Ferra, Lucas, and Hiroshi… Well… They're all Genin. The lowest level. That's because they haven't been ninjas for a very long time. Ahh… Here we are." He stopped in front of a nice sized house. "This is your home until Kalari can find something to do with you… like find your home and that kind of stuff."

He glanced down at the boy, who hadn't changed at all. "Well… Kanda will take care of you. She'll put you into some of Tadashi's old cloths and make sure you get cleaned up. Alright?" The boy, surprisingly, nodded slightly. '_Maybe Kalari was right… All he needs is a little time.' _He thought.

The two walked into the house and Keru called out "Kanda! Come here for a second." A female's voice replied with an 'ok.'

A boy, probably around the age of fifteen, walked past a doorway. But he soon returned… walking backwards and looking in at his father and the boy. He had wild, spiky brown hair and dark blue eyes. Running horizontally along each side of his face was a scar, like a scratch mark… or like a single set of whiskers.

"Hey dad… I thought mom said no pets in the house?" He smirked as Keru narrowed his eyes at his son. The boy walked into the room where his father and the 'pet' were standing.

"Pets? I thought I told you, Keru…" A woman walked through another doorway. She was very beautiful, with her navy blue hair flowing down her back. Her dark blue eyes widened in shock as she took in the boy's appearance. "What… Keru?"

"Your sister said we had to take care of him… Until something can be done about him. He won't talk… and he's only responded three times since Hiroshi found him…"

"He's so cute!" She said as he mumbled out the rest of his sentence. "You poor child. Come on… Dashi dear, could you get me some of your cloths from last year… He's pretty thin, so he could probably fit into some of your Genin clothing."

The older boy, Tadashi, scoffed as he walked off to do what his mother asked. "Oh, and Keru dear, Ferra was over here a short while ago saying that they knew where they wanted to go eat. And she asked me if I could hurry you up." She said as she walked the boy towards the shower. "After Keru leaves, I'll make you and Tadashi something good to eat, and then we'll give you a name until you can remember your real name." He blinked and nodded slightly. "Good." She smiled.

"Here you go mom. I just grabbed something for him to sleep in tonight. I put a few outfits into the spare room for him." He said as he tossed her a pair of green boxers, a pair of black, baggy shorts, and a white, baggy t-shirt. It was probably one of his recent shirts.

"Your such a good boy for your mom. I'll make you boys some dinner once I get him cleaned up."

"Alright." He said and he disappeared down a hall.

"Ok dear…" She turned on the water for him and adjusted it until it was a comfortable temperature. She folded the cloths and put them on the counter by the sink. "This is for your hair." She pointed to a bottle with clear, slow moving liquid inside it. "… And this is for your body." She showed him a sponge and a bar of soap. "Do you think you can handle it, or should I send Tadashi in here to help you?" He shook his head slightly. "Hmm… ok then. Put those cloths on when your done and I'll brush your hair out." She shut the door and left him to clean himself.

She walked into her and Keru's room and opened her closet. There were a few books on the floor, and she pulled out a thick book with the title, NAMES. She then walked to the kitchen, placed the book onto the table, and started to make dinner.

It would take some time for the food to cook all the way, so Tadashi sat at the table reading a scroll… and Kanda sat at the table flipping through the name book. "You know… If you had been a girl, Tadashi, I think I might have named you Sakura. It's such a pretty name." She looked up to see the boy just standing in the doorway, staring at her. His mouth was hanging open slightly.

"Oh… Hello dear. Now who would have guessed that under all that dirt was beautiful blonde hair?" He was holding a brush out to her.

"I don't know mom… Sakura sounds… well… I guess if I looked like a flower or something, with pink or red hair- … What?" The boy was staring at him now. "I think he recognizes that name… Sakura?" He looked to Kanda.

"Sa...ku…ra?" He said, his voice a raspy whisper.

"So he can talk." Tadashi said, going back to reading his scroll.

"Hmm. I guess it was a name that was important to him. Well dear, let me brush that mess you call hair." She got off of her chair and sat onto the floor. She patted the area in front of her, and he sat down on that spot. She lightly brushed out the knots until his hair, which was down past his eyes, until she could smoothly run the brush through. "Your hair is a little long… come with me and I'll cut it for you."

Tadashi looked over his scroll to see his mother walk out of the room with the boy his father had brought home. He didn't like to look him in the eyes, because it made him feel a little unnerved... Like he was staring into a lifeless body. Except when he said that girl's name. His eyes had lit up a little bit, filling them with a little life.

He shook his head and returned to reading his scroll. It was a jutsu he wanted to learn. It was a strange one, and he had just happened across it earlier that day. It was a clone jutsu… but the clones were supposed to come out solid, not just illusions. The shop keeper had said that he didn't know where it came from, but sold it to him anyways.

He rolled it up as his mother walked back in, the boy following behind her. His blonde hair was much shorter, about the same length as his own. As the boy looked at him, he felt a shiver go up his spine.

"You can sit here next to me, and we'll pick out a nice name for you. Ok?" The boy nodded. "Ok! Tadashi… Pick a letter."

Her son looked at his mother. "What?" It soon clicked in his head. "Umm… S."

"Really? I see him with a name starting with an N."

"Whatever… Why did you ask me, then?" His mother giggled and shrugged.

"Ok… S… S… Right. Sarad? No? Hmm… Sasson? How about Sasuke?" The boy tilted his head. "So he recognizes that name, too?"

"I don't think we should call him something he recognizes."

"I agree… Then lets skip back to N. Neka? No… I don't like that. It means goose. Nicolas? No….Oh! How about Nitis? It means friend."

"Sure." Tadashi was quite board with this game. "Mom… I'm getting hungry. I'm sure Nitis is pretty hungry, too. Right, Nitis?" The boy nodded, seeming to understand that his name was now Nitis.

"Ok ok…" She stood up and went to go finish the food.

After dinner a loud commotion could be heard at the front of the house. Kanda was busy cleaning the dishes, so Tadashi was the one to go check it out. He looked at the newly named Nitis and asked if he wanted to come with him. Nitis nodded slightly and stood up.

When the two reached the front door, Tadashi opened the door to find Lucas and Hiroshi wrestling on the ground. Ferra was screaming for Hiro to knock out Lucas. Tadashi looked at his father to see that the man wanted no part in this. He sighed and grabbed the boys by their collars and pulled them apart. "You couldn't do this yourself?" He directed this question at his dad.

"I thought that they'd just get it out of their system. They're just doing that because Lucas tripped Hiroshi." The boys were now glaring at each other. He looked over to Nitis. "I wouldn't have guessed that you hade blonde hair…"

"We're gonna call him Nitis, until he remembers his name anyways." Keru looked at Nitis, who had walked up next to Tadashi, and then back to his son. The top of Nitis's head didn't even reach Tadashi's chin.

"You know, Tadashi… If your mother had blonde hair… Nitis could easily be passed off as your younger brother. He looks just like you-"

"So his name is Nitis?" Ferra said as she walked up to the boy that they had found earlier that day… "You know what…" Everyone looked at the girl. "I think he's even cuter than Tadashi! He's so adorable!" She said as she gave him a hug. "Can I spend the night Sensei?!" She asked. Her eyes were huge, and she stuck out her lower lip.

"What!? Get outta here." He grabbed Tadashi and Nitis, pulled them into the house, and shut the door. "Whew. I didn't want to have to deal with that all night." He said as he wiped his headband…thinking he would have wiped his forehead.

The sound of a camera clicking, and a bright flash awoke him from his thoughts of what might have happened if Ferra had managed to get into his house. "What the hell…"

Kanda giggled and walked away… Holding a picture. "Mom… Why…why would you take such a stupid picture?!" He whined as he took his father's arm off from around his neck and followed his mother into the family room.

Nitis could feel Keru remove his other arm from around his own neck, and watched as he followed his son. He stood there for a moment, listening to Kanda speak. "You boys just looked so adorable, I couldn't help it."

He thought as he moved his feet towards the voices in front of him.

Who is Sakura…

And Sasuke…

…

Who am I?


	2. A rouge encounter

This chapter was missing most of the begining and parts of the ending. TT sorry. That's why I deleted it and then reposted it.

* * *

The only move is forward 

Probationary Arc

A rouge encounter

* * *

_"Hey! What are you doing?!"_

_"That's what he gets for coming late. Surprise!"_

_"You're asking for trouble, You know you shouldn't do that."_

_"Hm… Our Teacher's a Jonin, an elite ninja. You think he'd fall for that?"_

_"Yeah, Sasuke's right. You're so clueless…"_

_"Hahahahaha! I got him. He totally fell for it. Haha."_

_"I'm sorry Sensei. I told him not to do it, but he wouldn't listen. I'd never do something like that."_

_

* * *

_

The Death God watched as the old memory appeared in the orb he held in his ancient hands.** "How is he able to access these memories? The boy is locked away in hell, so why is his soul still reaching out for them?"** He growled. **"I don't understand-"**

**"Then why don't I enlighten things so that they are clear enough, even for you, Brother.**" A new being appeared from behind. It was a woman who looked young, but was in fact very, very old. Her strait white hair was nearly down to her knees. Her pale green eyes shining as she spoke her mind. "**You, dear brother of mine, have sent someone in my charge to hell-"**

**"You mean Naruto Uzumaki? His spirit died, so he's mine. You're in charge of his Soul and Body."**

**"True, but he's misled your eyes and you have yet to see it."** She smiled at him.

**"When you find him… If… you find him, I'll wish to speak with him and you, Sister."**

She watched as he summoned the Gates of hell. She pushed open the doors and walked on through

* * *

Nitis opened his blue eyes. Above him was a light green ceiling. The whole room was this green color. As he sat up, he looked around the room, taking in his surroundings. On the small table next to his bed was a lamp, and an alarm clock that told him it was nine thirty. He got out of bed, attempted to make it but failed. He found some spare cloths that Tadashi had lent him. After he put on a gray long-sleeved shirt with a red swirl on the back, and a pair of faded black sweats. 

Yawning, he slowly walked out towards the kitchen. He was greeted by Kanda smiling at him, holding a small book. "Good morning, Nitis. Did you sleep well?" He nodded as she pointed to one of the chairs. "I'll make you some breakfast. Keru and Tadashi both left on missions today, so they ate on the go." She stood up and started to get things together. "Later we'll get you some cloths, so you don't have to wear Tadashi's old ratty things."

After a few minutes of waiting, Nitis found a plate full of hot food in front of him. As he ate, Kanda continued to talk to him. "Nitis dear. I'm going to have to teach you how to respond to people… you know, talk to them. Maybe the more you do, the more you'll be able to remember about your life. That's my goal, you know. To get you to remember everything and get you home. I failed with Keru, but not with you. Your too young to be lost like that." He looked up, his eyes narrowed in confusion at the woman.

"You will… help me?" He said, his voice just as raspy as the night before.

"Of course, dear. I wonder, though… whether your from a ninja village, or a regular town or city." She watched as he continued to eat." She smiled. "I love that you can almost carry on a conversation. Keru took five weeks before he spoke a single word. I think it was more out of distrust than not having the ability."

The blonde put his fork down on his empty plate. His face was twisted in concentration, like he was searching for something to say. "Keru doesn't remember anything…" He said slowly.

"Well… he remembers faces and things he used to do, like go on missions and such. He can't remember where he came from or anyone's names, except his. We've searched for his family, but they don't seem to exist." She said sadly. "Well… Enough of this depressing talk. Lets go shopping!" She brightened up, took his plate and washed it, and then gave him a pair of Tadashi's old shoes.

They walked out of the house and down the street. Nitis noticed more and more people the farther away from home they got. He walked closer to Kanda, not sure what to think of all these people. For some reason… he was afraid of them. Like they were going to attack him at any moment.

Kanda felt the fear that was emitting from the boy next to her. She felt him getting closer and closer to her side, like a small child with his mother. She remembered back when Tadashi was three, walking in front of her. He never hid behind her leg, or held onto her hand. He always lead her to where they were going._ "Sweetheart. Why do you like to walk in front of mommy, instead of next to me?" _She remembered asking.

His small child voice and his attempt at the word 'protect' echoed in her mind. She smiled, remembering it. She had been so proud of her boy. 

"Kanda! I didn't know Tadashi dyed his hair!" A woman with light brown hair tied into loose pigtails said as she walked up to the two.

Kanda looked at Nitis, who was hiding behind her. "Um… Tadashi didn't dye his hair…" She looked at her old friend, Whitney.

"But then who-" She walked around her friend and looked at the boy. His eyes were shut tight and he was clutching Kanda's shirt. He was shorter than Kanda, his head barley reaching her shoulders, but Kanda herself was pretty tall. She placed her face right next to the boy's, and was surprised when he ran to the other side without even opening his eyes. "He's like a small child… who is he?"

"Keru found him on his way home from his mission last night with his Genin team. Kalari told him to take care of him until his memory returns. So we're going to get him some cloths!" Kanda smiled.

"You know… Kanda. This sounds a lot like when a certain someone found someone else. But he never regained his memories and married someone here." She pointed out.

"Yeah well… Nitis needs to remember so he can return home. I'm sure he has a family waiting for him somewhere… worrying about him… It's ok Nitis. She's a friend. You don't have to be scared of Whitney." She started to walk again, Nitis on one side, Whitney on the other.

He looked around her to see that the other woman, Whitney, was staring at him. But for some reason, the stare didn't bother him. He wasn't afraid of her, but he was afraid of the crowd. Something was telling him that crowds were bad. "Hello…Nitis? Did you says that was his name?" She smiled after Kanda nodded.

He looked away for a minute before replying. "Hello."

"Well at least you can talk. So Kanda," She straitened back up to speak with her friend. Nitis drew his attention away from the two women, and instead, to the necklace he wore. He stared at the crystal, hoping that something would come from it… a memory, a vision of the past, even a voice. But nothing came, only a feeling, a feeling that nobody should have it but himself. He felt no greed to have it, though. He could feel eyes on him. He looked around, but found no one.

Once he put the necklace under his shirt, Kanda turned into a shop. "Well, I have to get home. I'll see you later Kanda, you to Nitis!" She said as she turned around and walked back down the street.

Kanda turned around and told Nitis to follow her. After they walked into the shop, Kanda steered the boy to the area of clothing suitable for him. After one of the workers found Nitis's waist and shoe size, Kanda set off to find some cloths for the poor boy.

After two hours of trying cloths on, Kanda was satisfied with all the cloths that she had found for him. "Well now… Let's get some lunch Nitis. Then we can head home and you can change into your own cloths."

"Ok."

As they ate lunch, Kanda noticed something around the boy's neck. "Nitis, is that a necklace?" He pulled out the crystal.

"I guess."

"Where'd you get it?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her. She hadn't been paying much attention when he arrived the night before.

He shrugged. "I've had it since I woke up yesterday. I don't know where it came from, though." His words came out slow, but clear.

She continued to put her lunch in her mouth. It was strange that he had been found with nothing except a ripped up tarp and a necklace with a crystal on it. Even as they walked home, she continued to wonder about the crystal.

After they finished the got up had only moved a few yards away when two hands latched onto Nitis's face. "Uh-" He didn't know what was going on, but he didn't move or try and get away.

"Nitis! How was your morning!'' A female voice said as she wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a hug. He looked at the yellow sleeves with red trimming and knew who it was after a few moments of thinking.

"Get off that poor kid, Ferra." Keru's voice entered from behind him. "Look, he's turning blue…" When she wouldn't let go, he roughly grabbed her yellow hood and tore her away from him. "Damn it, girl, get outta here. Go get those boys and tell them to meet me at my house." He then wrapped his right arm loosely around his wife's neck.

She, of course, picked his arm up off her shoulder, and put the heaviest bag in his hand. "Thank you, sweetheart. Come on Nitis dear, lets get these clothes put up before Hiro, Lucas, and Ferra gets there."

After Nitis and Kanda put away all his cloths, the two went down stairs to see Ferra sitting on the floor in front of the TV playing Tadashi's game consol, and Keru standing in front of the couch where Lucas and Hiro were sitting, glaring in opposite directions. His arms were crossed, his right foot was rapidly tapping the floor, and his green eyes were narrowed so far that he almost looked cross-eyed.

"Nitis! Come sit next to me!" Ferra said happily, patting the floor next to her. When he sat down, Ferra thrust a controller into his hands. He looked over his shoulder and watched as Kanda walked off into the kitchen. "Do you know how to use the controller? It's a fighting game so its pretty easy." Ferra started to explain.

He looked back at her, and then to the red thing in his hands that was covered in yellow buttons. "I don't know how to use it…" He said slowly to the mauve haired girl. She giggled a little. "Will you show me?" He asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Look at the screen. When you push this button, your person jumps. Your guy… push the X button. Ok now, pick one of the players." He chose a guy with red hair and blue eyes. He had a scar going across his left eye. Ferra continued to explain to him how to play the game. Nitis would every so often look over his shoulder to see that the three guys had not moved.

He looked at Ferra's hands, her thumbs were moving wildly over the red buttons on her purple controller. Across her left hand, was a thin line. "What's that?" He asked her. She paused the game and looked at where he was touching her hand.

"Oh this? It's a scar." She laughed at the look he gave her. "Its when you get cut, and when it heals, some the cut leave these…scars. I got this from training with those idiots over there." She threw her hand over her shoulder and pointed at her team with her thumb. "When you're a ninja, you tend to get a lot of scars."

"Oh…"

Ferra and Nitis played one round of the game when Keru's voice boomed throughout the house. "LUCAS!" Nitis looked over his shoulder again to see that Lucas was staring at the ground. His face, of what he could see, looked panic stricken. The blonde continued to rapidly hit random buttons and watch the scene. "I want you two to get over yourselves and apologize…" He looked at the two, one at a time. "NOW DAMNIT!"

Everyone jumped slightly at the tone in Keru's voice… Well, Keru didn't, obviously, and neither did Ferra, who growled in frustration because she had been beat by Nitis, and he wasn't even looking. "Why don't you two crybaby's go suck it up so we can do our missions again!" She stood up and walked over to the both of them.

"How are we ever going to become Chuunin if we don't do missions! If you two don't get over yourselves…" Her voice was steadily rising. Keru slightly unfolded his arms and backed away. "Then I'm going to KILL YOU BOTH!" She lunged at the nearest boy, who unfortunately was Lucas.

He jumped up and ran for it, but not before Hiro jumped up in front of him and shoved his other male teammate towards the enraged girl. Neither wanted to be on the receiving end of the girl's wrath. The three ran into the kitchen, but then Hiro and Luc, followed closely by Ferra, ran back into the room from the other direction. There was the sound of a door being slammed against the outside wall.

"Man… I would hate to be them right now, but they got what was commin' to them." Keru looked towards the back door, that was swinging by one hinge. "That's why they never stay over for more than an hour." He tilted his head and looked at Nitis, whose eyes were slightly widened. He was still sitting on the floor, in the same spot. "C'mon boy, lets go watch."

Nitis looked up at the man standing over him. "Ok." He said. His voice was starting to settle. It wasn't as raspy as it had been last night or this morning. Nitis walked out side, but stayed right in front of the door. Keru stood right behind him, leaning on the door frame. Running around in the medium back yard were four figures.

"Haha! Your dead, Akara. I don't have to outrun her… I just have to outrun you!" Lucas called over his shoulder. He disappeared, leaving a large barking dog where he had once stood.

"Who's… Akara?" He asked, looking up at Keru.

"Huh? Oh. That's Hiroshi' last name." He continued to watch Hiro run from the girl. Suddenly Ferra fell into a puddle of mud. Keru laughed, but Nitis was confused. The ground was dry everywhere except where Ferra now laid.

"What? Where did the mud come from?" He asked.

"That's Hiroshi's Kekkei Genkai." He could see the huge amount of confusion on his face. "It's a trait that only occurs in a single bloodline. It gives them certain abilities that others can't do. In Hiro's case, he can control water without using hand signs." He could tell he was really just making it worse, so he stopped. "I'll let Hiro show you later… If he's still alive."

Caleb, a extremely large, light brown dog with light green eyes, pointy ears, and a bushy tail had been chasing the group of three around the yard. He thought they were all playing. He was Keru's pet, Nitis had been told.

After fifteen minutes of yelling and running, the two boys were loosing their energy. Even Luc, who had been discovered hiding up in the tree, was getting tired. Keru came back outside after using the restroom. "Still at it, huh. Lucas! Why do you look so tired?! I thought Taijutsu was your specialty!" He yelled out to his student. The green haired boy responded with his fist raised into the air with a single finger sticking up. "HEY! Put that finger up again and see what happens to it you rude punk!"

"Keru, are you waiting for your students to kill each other off? Kind of lazy of you." A female voice came from the side of the house. "I'd have thought you'd do it yourself." A woman walked around the side of the house.

"Well well well, Maria Hatusa. I thought you'd be gone for another day." Keru turned to the Jonin. She shrugged.

"We're just too good. We were going to head over to Kalari's to report," She stopped and sighed. "but like always, Yusuke was drawn to the trouble." She ran her tan hand through her short blonde hair.

She was a very pretty woman for 26. Her hair was extremely short, but her bangs were shoulder-length. She had dark brown eyes. Her outfit was basic. She had on a pair of black pants with black boots. Her shirt was light green, and showed a small part of her midriff, which homed a large scar that ran horizontally across her tanned stomach. Being used like a belt, was her orange Abyss headband.

Nitis was shocked when a boy appeared on one of the tree branches. "You guys are having fun without me?" He sounded hurt, but he was smirking. He had short, wild sky blue hair that stuck out in every direction. His eyes were a pale green that shimmered as he watched his old classmates stop running and look up at him.

"Yukunami! What the hell are you doin' here!" Luc yelled, throwing his right arm out and his left came up towards his face. The blue haired boy pulled down one of his bottom eyelids and stuck out his tongue, only seeming to enrage Lucas even more.

"Actually, we wanted to see if the rumor was true." A boy with short, spiked red hair appeared next to Maria. He looked almost identical to Hiro. They wore both wearing the same set of blue cloths, except his short jacket was strapped close. His gold eyes were staring at Nitis, making him feel nervous. He decided he should go inside, he didn't like them staring at him.

"What rumor is that, cousin?" Hiro walked over to the boy. It was scary how much they looked alike.

"Toshio there heard that Tadashi dyed his hair blonde. A boy with dark green, wavy hair appeared next to Ferra, who was standing next to Lucas. He had light green eyes that seemed almost silver. He was nearly thirteen years old. He was the youngest of his group, because both Toshio and Yusuke were now fourteen.

"Well, sorry to tell you this, Adell, but my son didn't dye his hair. I think people were mistaking him for Nitis here." Keru said and moved to the side. "What? Where'd he go?" He looked around, but couldn't find him. "He's probably inside, c'mon." He led the others inside to look at Nitis. '_How did he get past me? I didn't even realize that he had left!' _He thought as he walked through the hall and into the living room, where sitting on the couch was his wife and the boy.

"Wow… He sure looks like Tadashi." Yusuke said in a bored tone. "So is he like, your new pet or something?" This earned him a fist in his head from his female sensei.

"No… We found him-" Keru was interrupted by a small cough. "Oh, well… _Hiroshi_ found him." The brunette sent a glare at his oldest student, who sent one back to him. "Well, anyways… We have to take care of him until he can remember where he's from."

Tadashi suddenly ran in with another boy around his height and age. He had medium length, messy white hair and the same blue eyes as Tadashi.

"Dad! There's a rouge ninja from Gem county running around near by. Three trackers just showed up and told Aunt Kalari about it. She said to come and get you immediately." Keru ran out, followed closely by all the teenage ninjas in the room.

Kanda looked worried. "Nitis, stay in here with me. They'll take care of the rouge if it shows up." He nodded and followed her into her bedroom where she closed the door and locked it. He watched as she dug around in her dresser and pulled out a kunai. "Take this, Nitis. Even though you really couldn't do much, I'd still like you to have it. Get in here and stay quiet." She pulled out a few more and told Nitis to stay hidden in the closet.

Kanda focused her eyes on the window, praying that the rouge would not cause any trouble in the village. Everything seemed to quiet down. No people could be heard outside, and no animals were making any noise. '_This is bad. It's too quiet.' _Her muscles tightened when her living room floor creaked. Her heart jumped up into her throat. '_Not good. I haven't fought anyone since Tadashi was born.' _A drop of sweat rolled down the side of her face.

Suddenly, Caleb let out a long and urgent howl from the outside. She rushed over to the window and looked out to see Caleb turn and run in the opposite direction. '_Worthless creature.' _She spun on her heals as her door was easily kicked down.

A tall, dark haired man walked in. "Now now, why so difficult hmm? Does everyone assume I'm going to kill them when I show up?" He said snidely. The blood covering his cloths gave Kanda her clear answer. "Yes? Well, you're right-!" He charged at her with an odd looking kunai. It was longer and thinner than most Kunai.

She jumped up and rushed to the bedroom door, hoping he'd follow her in attempt to get him away from Nitis.

"You know, the farther you run, the longer it'll take you to get back to the boy's body." He said in a singsong voice. She spun back around. "I know the little twerp's here somewhere… I just saw him through the window." He said.

"Wh- what do you want?" Kanda growled, her eyes narrowing.

"Why, didn't you know? I noticed it the moment I spotted it hanging around that blonde boy's neck. The crystal…"

"Something valuable? Seeing as you're from Gem country, you must know about it." She lowered her voice.

"Hmm, yes. Not that I'll tell you, though. I've gotta get it and run before someone catches me. Guess that means I'll have to kill you quickly, right?"

Kanda rushed forward and attempted to put her kunai through his forehead, but he disappeared and reappeared behind her. "Wha-?"

"Good try, but I'm faster."

Kanda's blue eyes widened as a sharp pain shot through her back. She tried to turn around, but the man pushed his kunai just a little deeper, waiting for her hiss of pain. When she refused to made the desired noise, he placed his foot against her back and launched her across the room. A painful 'thud' was heard when her head hit the wall.

"Better. Now… Where's that kid." He itched the back of his head as he looked around the room. He bent over and checked under the bed. "I just saw that kid a moment before I walked through the front door… now where-" He spotted the closet. "Ah, found you, kid."

He pulled open the door to the closet and standing in the doorway, was Nitis. The man scoffed at him. "Hey kid. You wanna give me what I'm after?" The kid didn't have a weapon, so he knew this would be easy enough.

Nitis knitted his eyebrows together as he tried to think. His eyes traveled over to Kanda's motionless form. He knew that this man was bad, he could feel it. "No."

The grin melted off the man's face. "Not going to listen? If you haven't already guessed, killing people is like eating cake for me. Just give it here-"

"NO!" He yelled. He pushed the man forward and rushed over to the window. He knew he was going to get hurt if he didn't do something now.

The ninja stumbled a little, shocked that the kid would push past him. "You're a little braver than most. I like that- Hey… what are you doing?" He asked as he narrowed his eyes at Nitis. The blonde had his fist held out about a foot away from the window. "The second you try to escape, I'm just going to kill you. You won't even get the window open."

"I don't need to open it." He said slowly since he was still getting used to speech.

"Then what-?"

The sudden sound of glass shattering made the man's eyes widen. "You- What was that for. Now you've went and gotten injured. Look, you've got glass sticking out of your hand, stupid boy."

Nitis stared at him. "I don't know. My body just told me to do it." The man cocked his head at the kids words. "It was really quiet outside. Someone could have heard it."

It sunk in. The village had been unnaturally quiet after he killed that woman and the little boy who was walking next to her.

"Nice going… Nitis." Kanda said without lifting her head. "It's our thing, you unruly thing you, that when we're looking for someone the village goes into mute mode. Kind of like a blackout. Then, someone makes a noise loud enough for others to hear. Our elite are probably nearing the house now." She coughed.

He walked over to her. "Little bitch!" His foot connected with her side. Nitis wasn't aware of the throbbing pain in his hand, or the warm liquid dripping down his hand. He wasn't even aware that the man had started to come at him.

He picked Nitis up by the neck and slammed him against the wall. "Little bastard." He pulled him away and then slammed him back into the wall, squeezing his neck as tight as possible.

Nitis opened his mouth wide and tried to gasp for breath, but no air was going in. He tried to pry the man's hands off, but it was futile. He felt tears run down his face from not being able to breathe.

"Death looks like it'll be good for ya, kid." He said as he dug into Nitis's shirt. He tugged on the cord, but it wouldn't break. He finally gave up and just pulled it over the mass of blonde hair and let it dangle around his wrist. He slammed his knee into the boy's stomach.

Finally he let his fist connect with the side of Nitis's face. "There there, all better, right?" He laughed as he dropped Nitis to the floor. Nitis was still gasping like a fish, and Kanda was bleeding too badly to even get up. The rouge put the necklace around his own neck before running out the door.

Nitis reached out for his retreating form. "Wait… You'll die-" his eyes closed and everything went black.

* * *

The Death god glared on at the picture in his orb. **"How does he remember the curse? Maybe it's a fluke or a leftover memory." **He glanced at the Gates of Hell where his sister had walked through earlier that day. **"I want to know why he's able to remember things when all his memories are with his spirit. It's dead, so their mine."** He smiled wickedly. **"Could be fun, this odd situation I've landed in."**


	3. He told him so

The only move is forward

Probationary Arc

He told him so

* * *

Pain. It hurt to move, to even breath. His head was spinning from all the pain. He could hear voices talking around him. They sounded worried and rushed. 

"Will you be ok?" A male's voice said from across the room.

"I just need to be stitched up. Get over there and see how he is I said!" A woman yelled.

"He's alive, Kanda. Don't overdo it by getting upset. It won't help the situation. Alright, Get her out of here, boys! Ashton. Come here, Son. Take him to the hospital. Come with me, Keru, Tadashi. We have to go get that psycho before he hurts anyone else. Ashton, meet up with us, ok?"

The room went silent. "Man kid, you're pretty lucky-" A moan came out of Nitis's opened mouth when Ashton picked him up. "Oh, sorry, did that hurt?"

"Yeah." He whispered. His blue eyes opened and he met a set of darker blue eyes. The boy that had a hold of him had messy, shoulder length white hair. A scar came down at an angle on both his eyelids and the tops of his cheeks. "You… that kid… 'Dashi?" He muttered as he pushed his face into the boy's shirt and wrapped his arms loosely around the boy's neck.

Ashton started walking across the room and Nitis unburied his face to look at the blood soaked floor where Kanda had been. "Will… Kanda be ok?"

Ashton nodded but held a serious look on his face. "My aunt Kanda will be fine. But I need to get you to a healer before I go off and look for that rouge."

"Oh." Nitis rested his throbbing head against the boy's chest. His eyelids felt heavy.

Ashton noticed the blonde's bobbing head and half shut eyelids and quickened his pace as he started to quick walk down the street. "So you're the boy with no memories that my aunt and uncle have taken in." He said as he tried to make the boy feel better. The blonde nodded. "So nothing? You don't remember anything?"

"No… just a few voices. I can hear someone… named Sasuke and Sakura I think… talking… and me, I can hear myself talking to them. But I don't see any pictures." He said quietly.

Ashton turned a corner. "Wait." Nitis said suddenly. He pointed in the opposite direction. "Go that way." He muttered.

Ashton stopped. "Why should I? I need to get you to the-"

"Go that way." He repeated, his eyes tightly shut. "That man… took the only thing-" He started to breathe heavily. "The only thing I had from before I woke up."

Ashton tried not to fall for it, he really did. "Damn it kid." He muttered as he turned and walked down the street. He glanced around, but all the people were still hidden within their homes. "So why, exactly, do we have to go this way?"

Nitis opened one eye. "I just feel… like it's the way to go." He said as he touched one hand to his stomach.

He started to move out of the village. 

He carried the boy up to a set of boulders that looked as if a small breeze would send them tumbling back towards the village. "I wouldn't get your hopes up. The chance of us walking up on this guy is probably one in a million-" He had walked out from behind an extremely large boulder and spotted something.

He froze. "I don't believe it…" He muttered. Nitis opened his eyes and spotted the man, his back facing the two teens. He looked like as if he hadn't noticed them yet. Ashton darted back behind the boulder.

"You freak. You led me right to him!" He said in a hushed tone. Nitis tilted his head at the white haired boy. "Ah well. I'll have to get your thing back, right? And that guy's village wants him back, so I think it's a fair trade if I send his body to them." He smirked as he put Nitis down and pulled out an odd looking katana. It was shorter than a normal one and it was unusually colored.

The blade of the katana was silver, but it had an unusual glimmer to it, while the top was a pale gold. "Watch a master take care of business." He muttered. The blade came close to Nitis's face, and he noticed that the katana was a two sided blade. "You stay here and stay hidden."

Ashton peeked around the corner of the boulder and watched as the man swung something small around his finger. It looked like a necklace. _'Is that what he wants? That little crystal?' _He leaned forward.

The man was muttering to himself. "This thing. Where did that kid manage to get his hands on something so rare? Our village has been looking for it for many years." Ashton narrowed his eyes and stared at the gleaming teal crystal.

Ashton slowly pulled out five kunai wrapped in paper bombs. He studied the area for a moment, looking for weaknesses in the terrain.

Nitis looked over to him. He stared at him as dark, navy blue eyes gathered their needed data. He watched carefully.

Ashton thought as he launched all five scrolls at their designated targets. The rouge spun around at the sound of flying weapons. He took a step back, and his legs were pinned down by two kunai. He yanked his pants, letting them tear as to escape the explosions. 

His attempt failed, because he stepped next to the three remaining kunai, which blew up. He dropped to his knees, the lower parts charred by the small blasts. "You!" He looked up and growled at Ashton, who was hovering over him with his blade ready to strike.

Ashton swung the blade down to cleave the man's head in half. The rouge's eyes widened, and he disappeared. Ashton landed with a small thump, and straitened up. He twisted his body and placed his katana flat against his palm and blocked the sharp kunai that was aimed for his head.

The rouge wrapped his arms around Ashton's neck and attempted to slide the blade over the most vulnerable part of his neck. Ashton struggled to get free, and finally cut himself free by stabbing the man in the leg.

* * *

Nitis listened to the sound of metal clashing from the other side of the boulder. It made his skin crawl to just sit behind the wall of safety and listen to someone fighting for something that was his. 

He pulled out the kunai and stared at it. It was the one that Kanda had given him and he had failed to use.

He struggled to push himself up to his feet. His breathing became strained, but he knew he had to help. His back was supported by the boulder. He forced his legs to move. Glancing around the edge, he spotted the small five, smoking columns and the kunai. He spotted a trail of blood trickling down from Ashton's neck.

He straitened up and made himself visible from behind his hiding place. Ashton and the rouge were too into their fight that neither noticed the blonde slowly moving his arm, the kunai held tightly in his grip.

* * *

Ashton jumped back to dodge another attack, but did not escape unharmed. His cloths were torn by his stomach, and a fair sized gash was drawn over his skin. He scowled at the injury the he held with his free hand and glared at the man. 

That's when he spotted the mess of blonde hair and a black, fast moving object headed right towards the two. "Wha-?" He muttered.

The kunai that Nitis had thrown suddenly lodged itself into the rouge's shoulder. The man let out a roar of pain and spun on his feet. "You again?! Why don't you just DIE!" He yelled as he rushed at Nitis.

Nitis stared at him as he rushed forward. '

Navy eyes flashed… along with a streak of silver and gold. A dull thud sounded, and a shower of blood sprayed onto Nitis's body.

With a quick, sliding motion, Ashton pulled his blade out of the man's back, allowing the dead man to fall to the ground. Ashton glared at Nitis.

"That was pretty stupid of you." He scolded. "You were barely a foot away from death. You had no right to interfere."

Nitis got to his knees and easily took back what was his. "I told you… that you'd die." He muttered. The point of a blade appeared right in front of his nose.

"Listen, you. That was dangerous! You know what would have happened if I didn't get here in time? You would have died!" He yelled. He angered him that the boy wasn't listening to what he had to say.

Sky blue and Navy blue eyes met. "I don't think it would have been the first time." He muttered.

"Wha-?" Ashton's body suddenly became ridged. He felt like he was suffocating, like he was trapped under water. He tried to pull himself up, and when he did, he was standing within a cage.

His throat was burning as he tried to take another breath of air, but only choked. His hand came up to his bleeding neck. His eyes started to close and his chest tightened to an unbearable feeling. He was burning to death, from the inside out.

He dropped to his knees in a pool of water that had been lingering around his ankles. As he looked up, his ears met with the sound of faint breathing, and his eyes locked with dulled red ones.

"Ashton!"

He blinked, unaware of what was going on. Tadashi was kneeling next to him. "Huh?"

Tadashi sighed. "Good." The brunette helped his cousin into a sitting position.

"What happened?" He asked weakly. The pain in his throat and chest had yet to leave, the feeling had only weakened.

"Well… We were patrolling the streets, me and Reno that is, and we spotted some smoke coming from up here. When we got here, You had your blade pointed right at Nitis, but neither of you were moving. That's when Reno got the wrong idea and launched a kunai at Nitis. It nailed him pretty hard in the back. It's just lucky I managed to deflect it away fro his head."

"So, where are they?" He asked as he pushed himself off the ground.

"Easy now." He said as he put his cousin's arm over his shoulder. "I sent up a flair, so someone will be here soon, and I'll be able to take you to the hospital and get that wound treated. I made Reno take Nitis to the hospital now because he was bleeding pretty badly."

Ashton looked down at the dead rouge. "Tadashi."

"Hmm?"

"I don't trust Nitis. I was yelling at him for being reckless, then I went inside his mind without activating my Kekkei Genkai. His mind stopped me from seeing anything, but the burning sensation is still there. It still feels like someone has a rope tied around my neck as well." Ashton said to his cousin.

"Really? That's never happened before, has it?" He asked. Ashton shook his head. "Well, then maybe someone put a barrier around his mind so that nobody, not even himself, can see what's inside his mind."

Ashton sighed. "It's possible, but why? Because of that necklace?"

Tadashi shrugged. "It's not impossible, right?" He smiled. "Look, there's dad and Aunt Kalari." He said as he waved at the two adults coming up towards them.

* * *

"Man… Tadashi's gonna kill me." A tall young man said as he rushed through the town to get to the large building that was just in his sights. His silver blue eyes glanced down at the unconscious boy in his arms. His hair was matted with fresh blood, that of the rouge, and of his own. 

"It was just a misinterpretation anyways, so I shouldn't get into that much trouble, right?" He asked himself out loud.

"Look Tadashi!" A young man said as he pointed over a house. "I see smoke."

"Alright." The brunette said and followed after his friend.

Reno, a young man of the same age as Tadashi, was the first of the village to notice the smoke. His dark red bangs flew back as he led the way. A long, low ponytail flailed out from behind his head.

His pale, silver blue eyes spotted the scene first. There was his friend Ashton, bleeding from his neck and stomach… his favorite weapon pointed towards a stranger who was kneeling on the ground with his hands wrapped around something on a chain. 'That must be the necklace that Tadashi told me about.' He thought as he pulled a kunai out and quickly launched it at the back of the boy's head.

"N-no Reno, you idiot!" Tadashi yelled. There was the sound of metal hitting metal, and the sound of something stabbing human flesh.

Tadashi's arm was outstretched form releasing his own weapon. The blade had moved Reno's own kunai, but it still hit Nitis… in his lower back.

Shocked, sky blue eyes slowly found the two newcomers. His mouth moved to say something, but he just fell over, unmoving. Ashton, who had been standing, toppled to the ground as well.

"Reno…!" Tadashi started to yell as he rushed forward to Nitis. "…this is the kid who's staying with me!" He yelled as he pulled out the blade. This released a flow of blood. Tadashi pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around Nitis to try and slow the flow of blood. "Take him to the hospital, now! I'll get Ashton.

That's how it happened. It was clearly an accident. "If he would have been the enemy then I would have been praised. I don't have time to think about things like that." He muttered as he rushed through the front door and over to a healer.

"Lady! He's hurt bad." The woman stopped and looked down at the blonde boy. Reno lifted his knee so that he could turn the blonde over. "Here, see?" He pointed to the large bloody stain that had made its way through Tadashi's jacket and onto most of Reno's own cloths.

"Ah! Bring him this way!" She said, leading him down a hall. "Leatah! Is ER 01 available?" She asked to a younger woman with a clip board in hand.

"No, Nalara. It's still being cleaned from Kalari's sister. But ER 02 is available."

The woman nodded. "That's fine then. Get Korso over here now. This boy has been injured by the spine, and I'm no good at those-" Nalara bumped into a tall, dark haired man. She didn't say anything, but grabbed him and pulled him with the small group.

"Put him there on the table with his back up, please. Get his shirt off, Leatah." She turned to the man. "It's a good thing I bumped into you, Korso. Take care him because you know I'd paralyze him if I tampered with his back." She ordered.

"Ah, yes… yes you would." He muttered as he looked at the injury. "Well, he's got a little nerve damage, but nothing I can't fix." He said as his hands turned green. "Now, if those nerves had been severed completely… then he'd be in some trouble."

Reno stood back and watched as the three adults hovered over the boy. '_Oh man… I did that.' _He whined in his head. It was another twenty minutes of him thinking he was going to be locked away for this when the three straitened up. "

"Well, He'll be sore for a few days, but he'll be ok. Reno…" Korso started. The man had known the redhead for the longest time due to all his accidents. "I'm guessing you had something to do with this?"

"Ah, well… not really-"

"Boy!"

"Ah! Yes… I did it! I did it all! But it was an accident!" He clapped his hands together and bowed, his eyes tightly closed and sweat dripping from his face.

"I bet." The man said, irritated. "Well… I've never seen this boy before. Who're his parents?"

"Ah…" Reno stopped. Tadashi mentioned the kid, but never said anything else about him. "I don't know." The man's temper flared. "But! But I know that Mama Kanda and Keru are taking care of him!" He opened one eye and looked up at Korso.

"Keru's charge, hmm? Well… Kanda is in the next room getting ready to leave if she hasn't already. Go see if she's still there."

He nodded and walked out. '_Please be in there, mom.' _He thought. He opened the door and met with four people. "Yay! Mom, you're ok!" He yelled happily and rushed towards her.

He was suddenly stopped and roughly yanked back by the collar of his shirt. He sagged in his cloths and looked up into green eyes. "Ah-"

"What did I tell you about calling my wife your mother? You punk." Keru asked as he glared at the redhead.

"M-mom… dad's picking on me!" He whined as he easily slid out of his t-shirt and scrabbled to get to Kanda. He sat on the chair's arm and wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Boy, you're on a one way street to hell of you keep this up. Don't think I won't hurt you." He gritted out.

"Ah, well, right. Momma." Reno cooed as he put his cheek up to Kanda's. "My new brother's in the next room and they don't know what to do with him. They want to talk to the _responsible parent_ in our family."

"About Nitis? Is he ok?" She stood up quickly, knocking the redhead onto the floor.

Ashton, who was the closest to Reno, helped him up. "Yeah. He's in the next room-" Kanda was already out the door. "…with the healers."

Keru put his first two fingers on the bridge of his nose. "I better go, too." He muttered. As he walked out, he looked over his shoulders at the three teenagers who were looking at each other. Reno was replacing his shirt.

"I have a feeling… I'm going to be here more than usual this year now that Nitis has met the accident inducer." He muttered as he ran his fingers through his hair.

* * *

**Sorry it took so long to get this up. I had a ton of new stories bouncing around up there!!! I had to get rid of them so that I could get back to this baby. So Read and Review! It modivates me!**

**Oh yeah, In chapter one there were sections in the begining that were missing, along with chapter two. I've went back and fixed them, so you may want to check over them and see what you missed. It wasn't much, just a small conversation.**

**Love ya**

**Blackblaze**


	4. Silver protection

The only move is forward

Probationary Arc

Silver protection

* * *

Nitis slowly opened his blue eyes and looked strait at the light green ceiling of the room he was currently calling his own. He slowly pushed himself onto his elbows. "Tsk, ow." He muttered at the sharp pain that raced up his back. He forced himself into a full sitting position before putting his hand under his shirt and rubbing the sore skin.

The skin, muscles, and nerves had all been repaired, they told him. The only after affect would be the new cells getting used to his body. To have healed such an injury meant that his cells had to have been generated at a quick pace. They said that to him as well before he was sent home with Kanda and the others later during the evening. That had been three days ago.

He moved his legs over the edge of the bed in a sluggish manner and closed his eyes before letting out a sigh.

His last dream had troubled him and had caused him to cry out during the middle of the night. He was almost out of breath and he had just woken up. But the dream, or memory… felt so real. He was in pain while he slept. He could feel someone's struggling and sorrow within his chest, and it was causing him something called distress. That's what Keru had said to him only a few hours ago.

He stood up and walked over to the mirror on the back of his door. He looked at his thin figure and the crystal hanging around his neck. His body was still pale, and as he turned to look at his back, he spotted something on his right shoulder blade. He stared at it for a good two minutes before giving up on what it was.

Something met up with his nose that made his stomach growl. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out his cloths for the day. Blue sweatpants and a plain white shirt. He grabbed the brush that Kanda hand lent him and bushed his wild blonde hair down. Once the spikes were concealed and flattened against his head, he felt he could present himself in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Nitis dear." Kanda said from her place by the stove. He lifted his hand a little to reply. He sat down next to Tadashi, who was reading the same scroll from four days ago.

"Hey." The brunette said without looking up.

"Morning." Nitis replied before yawning. He glanced over at Keru, who was reading a paper. "Hey Tadashi…" He started to ask.

"Hmm?" Navy blue eyes looked. "What is it?"

Nitis thought for a moment. "You're always reading that scroll. What's on it that you like so much?"

Tadashi smiled. "Well, there's a jutsu on here that I want to learn. It's difficult, so I've been studying how to do it."

"For four days?"

"Hmm, yeah." He went back to reading. He was a little startled when Nitis asked if he could see it. "Um, sure… But I don't think you're going to be able to do much with it."

Nitis held the scroll open. "I know. I just want to see." He mumbled as he looked down at the title.

SHADOW CLONE JUTSU

"Since our village is made out of ninja and regular people from towns and villages from all over, it's not shocking to find some secrets about their villages." Tadashi explained.

Nitis stared down at the title. It seemed so familiar.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu… Aw man!"

Nitis shook his head at the thought.

* * *

Kanda looked at Nitis as he walked away from the table after breakfast. She felt bad for him. He was unaware of it, but he was now being held prisoner on her sister's orders. Kalari had told her what Ashton had experienced. This had troubled the head of the village, so she asked Keru and herself to take special care to watch his every movement and not to let him out of the house incase he tried to run.

She sighed, causing Tadashi to look up. He too, knew what his aunt had asked. "It's just temporary, mom. I think it's pointless-"

"Nothing is pointless, son." Keru cut in. "What if he's a danger, and his memories and abilities are locked away because he was a danger somewhere else. We have to make sure-"

"Well I think it's stupid. He can't even go out in the backyard."

"Don't worry about it." Keru growled out.

Tadashi huffed and walked away from the table. "Hey Nitis!" He yelled as he walked down the hall. "You wanna play a video game with me?" He asked as he stuck his head around the door to Nitis's room.

He was just lying there, staring at the ceiling. But it was the look on his face that made Tadashi rush over to him. "Hey, what's wrong-"

"Ah…" Nitis moaned out. His teeth clenched shut, along with his eyes. A stray tear fell form his eye as he clutched his head.

Tadashi grabbed his hands and roughly pulled them away, but there was nothing on his head. "What's wrong?"

Nitis was breathing heavily and shaking, but he still looked to be in a great amount of pain. He opened his mouth and barely managed to say his phase. "Please… stop, no." He moaned again.

Tadashi didn't know what to do. He didn't even have enough knowledge to treat a wound using medical ninjutsu. But just as soon as it started, it stopped. Nitis's body loosened up, and he stopped struggling in Tadashi's grip.

He helped the blonde into a sitting position, his hand on his back for support. "Are you ok?" He asked in a bewildered tone.

"I- I don't know. I thought… I was dying." He muttered. "It hurt."

"Well I believe it. Were you having some sort of bad memory flash or something like that?" He asked.

Nitis shook his head. "I- I don't think it was a memory. I can only hear those." He whispered.

With a sudden determination, Tadashi stood up. "Are you hurting right now?" Nitis slowly shook his head. "Ok. Get your shoes on. We're going out."

"Out? I thought I wasn't allowed to go outside?" He asked.

Tadashi turned and looked at him. "How'd you know that?"

"Well, since every day I was told to stay inside for safety, I just kinda figured, you know, that I must be in trouble." He gave Tadashi a side glance. "Plus you and your parents are loud."

Tadashi thought about it for a second. "Hehe, yeah. Well, something like that, but it's not your fault. But lets not waist time. Let's go."

* * *

Sneaking out for Tadashi turned out to be harder than he first thought. He knew that he couldn't just walk out through the doors because his parents would catch him. He decided his only chance was the window in his own room. Nitis's windows all had paper tags on them so that if he were to open it, his parents would know.

But once the two were outside, there were still challenges awaiting them. First they had to get past the windows and into the small patch of woods that wasn't too far from the house. Simple enough, right? Well… simple enough until Tadashi woke up his father's stupid giant dog.

Caleb chased them into the woods and barked at them. _'Stupid dog!' _Even though the dog had been with his father since before he was born, it still didn't change the fact that Caleb was one of those hyper, stupid dogs that many people hated.

Tadashi looked behind him to make sure Nitis was still following him. "It's good to get out." He called out.

"Mm hm." Nitis said as he nodded his head, a small smile dancing on his lips.

It wasn't long before Caleb stopped chasing them. This gave the two a chance to stop and rest. Tadashi didn't need it, but he could tell that Nitis did. "Where are we?" The blonde asked. His hair was a little windswept, but it was still slightly neat looking as well.

"We're at my training area." Nitis looked around and noticed all the targets and practice dummies. It was an area of about fifty feet wide, and secluded by many leafless trees. The leaves that were still clinging on for dear life were brown and yellow. He put a hand on his side. "Well, lets go into town. I like the seclusion when I'm training, but I'm in the mood for crowds."

This made Nitis's stomach lurch. He still felt uneasy surrounded by a lot of people. It was odd just being around the three people he lived with and Kalari and Ashton. But he nodded and followed Tadashi towards town.

They passed a girl who couldn't have been much younger than Nitis. She had black hair that was held up on the side of her head. Tadashi bent down and watched for a moment before she turned her eyes in their direction. She easily spotted the two boy. "What do you want?!" She called out He eyes flashing red for a moment.

Tadashi jumped up. "Nothing!" He grabbed Nitis's wrist and pulled the boy away. "Whew, that was scary. He turned to Nitis. "They may be cute, but in reality, they're monsters."

This made Nitis smile. "I doubt it." He said.

Tadashi smirked. "You've been talking a lot more, haven't you? That good. Mom's been working hard on you, after all."

"You think?"

"Yeah- Oh, here we are." They stopped and stared at the main part of town. Nitis hadn't even noticed that they'd entered town.

Something whizzed in the air towards them. Tadashi ducked, but Nitis was just staring at it. He was violently yanked to the ground as the shuriken passed over their heads.

Tadashi stood up quickly and glared angrily at the culprit. "Oh crap." He muttered. "What the hell, Reno! Didn't you learn last time?" He yelled down the street as a red haired boy came running at them.

He stopped to get a breath. "It's not my fault this time! That crazy sensei of mine threw it at me, and I ducked."

Tadashi thought as he stared at Reno, who was apologizing to Nitis. 

"Reno!" A yell sounded from down the road. It was a woman with long, dark green hair in low pigtails. They were flying behind her as she ran at the group of three.

"Uh oh, I gotta go!" He said and disappeared.

Nitis stood up and dusted off his sweats. The woman stopped in front of Tadashi. "Do you know where that kid went, Tadashi?"

Tadashi shook his head at a fast pace. She glared at him and looked over at Nitis. Her silver eyes studied him for a moment. "Fine." And she too, disappeared.

Tadashi sighed. "That kid." He glanced at Nitis. The boy was staring at something. Tadashi turned his head and spotted his dad and his aunt standing about twenty feet away. "Uh oh-"

"Uh oh is right, Tadashi." His mother's voice rang in his ear. It was too smooth for his taste.

He turned around quickly and put his hands up in a pathetic defense. "M-mom! What are you doing here?" He spotted his cousin standing next to his clearly irritated mother.

She tilter her head a bit. "Looking for the boy we're supposed to be watching." She growled out. "Now how did he get out here, on the outskirts of town? With you, I might add."

Tadashi frowned. "Why should we lock him up?" He turned to Kalari. "Can't we actually try and help him instead of treating him like a prisoner?!" He yelled out.

"It's ok, Tadashi. I think… They want to see if I'm dangerous-"

"But you're not." Tadashi said as he cut off the short blonde.

"How do I know that though?" Nitis quietly muttered to himself. It was loud enough for Kanda to hear though. Her face fell from tight and angry to loose and apathetic looking. "I… I might be dangerous and…" He took a large breath. "And not even… even know it." He closed his eyes and tilted his head forward.

They all stared at him for a moment, unsure of why he was suddenly out of breath. Kanda was the first to realize that something was wrong. She took a step closer and lightly touched his shoulder. "Nitis?"

Tadashi suddenly realized that he was doing the same thing in his room earlier. "Mom! He's having some sort of attack! He had one after breakfast!"

Ashton pulled Nitis's eyelids open and stared in them. He looked into his mind, trying to see what was happening. He was hit by that insufferable pain of burning and drowning again. He tried to take a breath, but found that once again, he couldn't.

He couldn't even leave the blonde's mind. He tried to pull out, but the more he struggled, the more it hurt. Right when he thought he was going to die, something large and silvery white wrapped around his own mind. It instantly soothed him of all the pain. _'No more. It's too dangerous to try and look right now. He's still lost. You'll die the next time you attempt to see into his mind.' _A calm and collected voice flowed throughout his body.

He blinked and looked around. His aunt and uncle, along with his mother, were all trying to wake Nitis up. He had collapsed on the ground and was sweating and panting like he was having a heat stroke.

* * *

The being with the long white hair and pale green eyes looked at all the gates of level three hell. Hell had ten levels, ten being the lightest and one being the harshest, most horrid punishments of all. But her destination was not of the human hell, no… It was level zero, or the level of hell where no human spirit should go. Only those who have sinned the worst go there.

By those sins, it was meant that those who died by summoning one of the gods to grant their wish, whether it for good or evil. It was also for the foulest of demons. Not even serial killers made it to level zero.

Those nine demon lords of the demon plane split their spirit and soul and then sent their evil sides to the human plane and sealed all portals to their world so that the evil would never return to merge together again.

And level zero was where her sought spirit was. A sudden jerk in her mind told her that the boy's body was also feeling a bit of the spirit's suffering. She waved her pale hand and a water-like window appeared before her.

The picture of the blonde boy lying on the ground, clutching his chest, then his head, and then his stomach. It told her that if she didn't hurry, the body wouldn't be able to take anymore and die, thus letting her brother win.

"He's spent four days in there. If his will is strong enough, he'll last another day at most." She said aloud as she rushed forward.

* * *

Beep

"…"

Beep

"Uh…" Nitis opened his eyes and looked around. He was back in the hospital. He tried to sit up, but his stomach hurt too badly. It felt as if someone clawed his intestines out and then simply shoved them back in out of order and without sewing him back up.

He panted. It was work just to move his head. '_Why do I feel like this?'_ He thought as he looked around the pale room. Kanda was asleep next to him in an uncomfortable chair. The heart monitor suddenly beeped a little faster, then slower again.

Nitis clutched the crystal around his neck. He felt… scared. He shivered a bit before a hot flash over took him.

He bit his lower lip until it bled. The warm fluid dripped onto the white hospital shirt that he had been placed into. He slowly brought up his arm and wiped the blood from his mouth and chin. He cringed as something made his stomach twist in pain.

The door to his temporary room opened and a stranger walked in. It was clearly a doctor, but Nitis hadn't seen this man before. The man was carrying a clipboard in his hands, his dark eyes moving from side to side before stopping, then darting up to look at his charge.

"Ah, you're awake." He muttered as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "It's been a few hours now." He muttered.

"Huh?" Kanda said, lifting her head and looking over at the man. "Oh, Doctor!"

He nodded at her. "We took a blood sample from him after that mysterious attack and then ran a scan on his brain. It's still unclear if he's trapped in a genjutsu or not, but we found an unnamed poison in his bloodstream. It's already infiltrated his organs, by the looks of it."

Kanda looked horrified. Nitis licked his lips to stop the blood from trailing down his chin again. "Does that mean I'm going to die?" He asked quietly.

The healer looked up at him with a strait face. "Probably." He said it in such a horribly blunt way.

"Sir!"

The man smiled. "Well, it seems like the poison isn't damaging anything yet, like it's frozen and unable to act. We'll have time to bring a specialist and have them treat him. But I'm still unclear what's causing the attacks. We'll have to watch him for the time being."

"But where are we going to get a specialist? For poison?! The healers here are just average."

"Ouch. You hurt me with your words, Kanda. It's true, so I've asked Kalari to contact an old friend of mine. She'll know what to do."

"A friend?"

"Well, it'll probably be a underling from her, if the rumors are correct." He muttered as he walked out the door.

* * *

**Ok, done! Sry it took forever and a year, but I just couldn't get into it. I even went out and bought the fourth boxset and watched in with Japanese audio (don't like the dubbed much) and that helped a little. I was going to post it yesterday, but I got home late, and when i tried to log in, they were working on the site and I couldn't get through. **

**Well, the next chapter won't take nearly as long to post since I'm a third of the way done already and I started it yesterday evening. This chapter was just hard to get out because I couldn't think of anything so the begining is just there because I had nothing else! The next chapter, however, has a scene that's a little gross . but It's okay just because it doesn't last long.**

**Ah well, Reviews are appriciated . They make me work faster.**

**Blackblaze**


	5. The wanted medic

The only move is forward

Probationary Arc

The wanted medic

WARNING: There's a slight gory scene early on, but don't worry too much about it. I'm just giving you the heads up.

BTW: This chapter skips around alot, but it should be easy enough to follow. Over half of it was deleted about a week ago and I had to redo it. I have alot of announcments at the bottom so please read them if you can.

* * *

Kalari read the letter over and over again, not understanding one bit of it even though she wrote it herself. The only healer in her country that might have been able to help had said that he couldn't. "That idiot. I'd feel like a fool if I called in for a specialist." She muttered.

She laid her head onto the wooden desk. "He said he personally knew this woman, but she might be busy… If I sent for some help, they'd probably laugh at me." She muttered. She rolled her head onto her chin. "Who could I send?"

"My lady?" Kalari's head shot up off her desk. "Are you done talking to yourself yet?" A man said as he walked into the office.

"Seth! Don't you think it's a bit rude to enter my office without my permission?" She glared at the blonde. His hair was just a little long, dirty blonde with a bit of wild thrown in.

His grey eyes stared at her like he was bored. "Because it's you, no." She twitched. "But I came here to request my team to retrieve a specialist for the stranger-"

"I told you… Kanda is calling him Nitis. He's not a stranger."

"So you really are going to cause another village trouble for an outsider-"

"Is this entire village not full of them?" She shot back.

He sighed. "Very well. My offer still stands-"

"Just Tadashi. Ashton experienced something painful today while using that retched kekkei genkai of his. He collapsed with a bad headache, but he'll be fine after he sleeps it off."

Seth nodded. "When do we set out?"

Kalari smirked. "It'll just be Tadashi going. He's a Chuunin, and this is just a messenger mission."

His emotionless face suddenly broke into shock. "B-but-"

"Nope. Besides, since the village is so far away, He'll be sent through a summoning, and that's how he'll travel back." She grinned at her stubborn subordinate. "I know, little Seth. You haven't been able to leave on a mission in over a month. Maybe sometime soon." He stormed out. "Hee!" She giggled at his antics.

In truth, she just liked to see him pout. She held the letter in her hand. "Well, I'll need to send this out now if it'll reach her tomorrow morning.

** XxX**

Life rushed past the last gate in level one. There, she was met with a simple, black door. She wasn't fooled however. One couldn't simply turn the silver handle and hope to open the door. No, it had to be done with powerful magic.

She started to mutter under her breath. A thin line of blue light spiraled around her, a spell merged within the coil of spirit energy. With a slight movement of her pinkie, the strand encircled the door. It blew open with such force that any normal person would have been thrown back. Luckily, Life was no pushover. She stood there, her white hair lashing out behind her back in an almost majestic manner.

She strode into the black abyss and let the door close behind her. Being the God of Life, she was not affected by the unlivable gloom and pain that erupted from every direction.

Unlike the other ten levels, which had torture characteristics such as fire, ice, lightning, etc., this place was not meant for those. This place eventually ate away at the spirit. After so much time of being here, you'll eventually just disappear. The spirit that has been in this place the longest was over three hundred years old, while only recently a spirit had appeared here, spent only a few moments, and was gone.

She looked around. There were many demons here, but they were being dealt with by Death's subordinates. A few humans who had managed to survive had somehow locked themselves in their minds, unaffected by the pain.

A sudden cry turned her attention to an abrupt upsurge of blood. Her green eyes narrowed and spotted a large pool of red liquid glistening in the faint amount of light. The little devils were crowded around a body lying on the black ground.

She could just make out a few lines on his face since his hair was a completely new color thanks to the blood… they were the only way she knew that she had found him.

She moved forward and hovered over one of the workers to see what kind of experiment they were doing to the spirit. Her eyes narrowed.

He was split open like a frog during a dissection. The skin on his chest and stomach were peeled back, and his organs were pulled out and laid to the side. His eyes were forced open, pins shoved through the eyelids and into his skull. Apparently, the devils had had enough of his yelling, and had sewed his mouth shut with a thick string of spirit energy that she was sure, they had stolen from the boy. It was red, meaning they had used the fox's chakra to make it.

One of them made a movement, and another gush of blood flowed across the floor. The boy tried to close his blue eyes as he tried to scream, and finally managed to… after the skin ripped through the pins.

** XxX**

Nitis let out a horrible cry of pain as he clutched his eyes. Tears flowed steadily down his face. Two sets of hands tried to hold down his thrashing body.

** XxX**

"Having trouble taking out the Kyuubi, are we?" She asked coolly. None of them turned from their work. They've never tried to take out a demon from a seal before, so it befuddled them and causing them to do it wrong.

She made a fast movement with her hands and watched as slowly, he started to become whole again. His intestates slithered back into place like snakes, while all the metal that was used to keep him open was flung into the devils. But that was only an accident on Life's part. It wasn't long before he was completely healed.

All that was left, were the chains that bonded him to this level. He stared at her as she created a shattering spell for the unbreakable material latched around his ankles, wrists, and neck. "Hold still, young one." She said to him.

He opened his stitch-free mouth to ask what was going on, but was stopped when he was hit in the forehead by a small piece of metal that flew off his ankle. "O-ow." He muttered as he rubbed his head. He glared up at her. "Who do you think you are?! You should have warned me that you were going to bash me in the head!" He yelled as he held his fist at her, the piece of chain link tight within his grasp.

"That was purely an accident, young one."

"Oh."

"Are you ready to leave? This place is not meant for someone like you." She said as she lightly took his hand in hers. A white light surrounded them and they were suddenly standing in an old fashioned building. "Ah, better. I can only transport out of that retched place, but not into it." She said.

"Hey, where are we?" He asked.

"We are in the realm of the afterlife." She said. "You've caused quite a commotion with my brother. He's very upset that you have been able to somehow communicate with your body.

"…My body?"

"Yes. I too want to know how your mind was able to remember the secret about the necklace. I have a theory, but until I can be sure of this, I have to keep you away from my brother."

"Your brother?" Naruto asked.

"Death. He is my brother. I am called Life. You… are Naruto Uzumaki-"

"What?! Why do you know that?!"

"I'm Life. I give life to all worlds while my brother gives death to those on the living worlds. Once you die, if you have committed any sins or such, then Death will deal with those spirits in hell. But you… are an interesting case indeed."

Naruto squinted his eyes and tilted his head. "What are you talking about, lady? I'm dead right? I should be back in hell where I belong-"

"Only the Kyuubi belongs there, young one."

"…" He looked up at her. "So why are you in charge of me?"

She smiled. "It seems that your body survived and is now wandering your world. And somehow, small fractions of your memories have been leaking into your body while your spirit is here. I have to investigate this matter, so I think…" She closed her eyes. "Ah yes… He'll be good enough. There is a young man I want you to stay with until I've returned. Come." She grabbed his arm and the two wisped away again.

When they landed, Naruto was shocked.

Naruto stared at the older boy. "This is weird. I figured that I'd never see you again." Naruto said as he smiled and walked up to the dark haired boy. "You see to be doing ok… being dead, right Haku?"

"It seems that I can say the same for you." He said with a faint smile. "What are you doing here, anyway? Are you dead?" He asked.

Naruto squinted his eyes and crossed his arms. "I guess. But this lady said that my body is still running around back home-"

"Well… you're not home, actually. You're in a ninja village called Abyss." She corrected him.

"What?! Why am I there?!" He yelled.

"That has yet to be known. Why do you think I want you to stay clear of my brother while I find out?" She asked.

Haku closed his eyes and thought about something for a moment. "I wonder what's happened to your body, then. Too bad we can't see it." He said slowly.

"Is there any way I can see my body?" Naruto asked Life.

"Well, yes. But you'd have to summon me every time you become curious." She mumbled. _'It would be too much trouble to stand here and let him watch his body… I could… but Death would be unhappy.' _The thought of her brother made her smile. "I guess I'll just have to give you this." She said as she lightly placed her index finger on his forehead.

His eyes suddenly became completely white because his irises were gone. His mouth was slightly open as water flowed out from his mouth and eyes and encircled his body. The clear water flowed around him for a moment, then reentered his body though his mouth and eyes.

His body gave a violent shudder before falling to the ground. His breathing was labored, but he managed to stand back up. "Th-that's was… HORRIBLE! Why couldn't you just tell me like a normal person?!" He yelled at Life as the breeze picked back up.

She smiled. "Ah, but you forget that I am not a normal person. And besides, it would have taken far too long to just tell you and then teach you." She waved and disappeared.

"Freakin' weirdo. That hurt." He muttered as he rubbed his eyes.

Haku stared with wide brown eyes. "A-are you ok, Naurto?" He asked.

Naruto rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, but that… I don't even know what to say. It didn't really hurt, it was… odd." He swallowed. "Oh well, at least now I can watch my body." He said with a faint smile.

** XxX**

The large white bird circled the large building below, its shadow dancing on the roof. It slowly lowered itself until it was perched on a railing near an aging woman who was eating lunch. The bird waited for the woman to take the scroll off of her strong pale legs. Finally, the woman did as the bird hoped. "Wait, you. Here." She tossed up a piece of bread. "That's a good bird. Now let's see." She muttered as she opened the scroll.

She read over the contents. Within the scroll was another scroll that said **DO NOT OPEN. **The farther along the letter she got, the more she wished that she still lived in Konoha.

"You… You brought this to the wrong place. This person lives in Konoha now." She said to the bird as she reattached it to the creature's leg. She handed it another piece of bread. "Sorry." She pointed south. "Go that way. There's a large mountain with a few faces carved into it. That's a good girl." The old woman said as she petted the white bird's head. It let out a squawk and took flight again.

** XxX**

The doctor stared at the subdued child. It had taken a lot to get his body to stop reacting violently. He knew that it wasn't the poison that was causing the fits.

The heart monitor beeped in a calm fashion. After that violent attack on his mind, he stopped moving for a while. If it hadn't been for the monitor, then they would have thought he'd died. He'd been sleeping soundly ever since. The man was afraid he was slipping into a coma.

By now his letter should have reached its target. He knew that she'd send someone, if not come herself. She owed him that much.

He heard the door open behind him. "Yes?"

It was the young girl on Keru's team. "I'm sorry, sir. Is it past visiting hours?"

He nodded. "You were working on that old building down the street today, right? I'll let it slide for today, but don't overstay your visit, ok." She smiled and nodded as he walked out.

She walked over to Nitis, who was completely out of it. She had over heard that he may be slipping into a coma. She also heard about his fits from Keru Sensei. She tried to get Hiro and Lucas to come with her, but she sighed as she remembered their reaction.

"C'mon guys. We should go see how Nitis is doing." Ferra said to her teammates. She hadn't seen him since the rouge ninja incident. She tilted her head at the boys' reactions. The two boys locked eyes with flat expressions. "What?"

Lucas was the first speak. "I know that we found him and all, but we don't really know him well enough to make a hospital visit-"

"Especially since he was under surveillance for those few days. You heard what he did to Ashton, right?" Hiro finished.

"Yeah, but that wasn't his fault. Ashton shouldn't have tried to look into his mind while Nitis was and still is, unsure about himself. What if he was tortured, and his mind has a genjutsu trap planted in it." She defended.

"Maybe, but it's still a bother to deal with. We'll just wait until he gets out." Lucas said as he and his red haired teammate turned and continued to their homes.

She huffed as she remembered it. "Those jerks." She looked down at him. "You sure are cute, even if you're hurt." She smiled.

** XxX**

Naruto moved his arms in an elegant manner, very unlike his usual, rough way of doing things. After a moment of waiting, a liquid hole appeared before the two boys.

"Wow, what is that?" Haku asked.

"It's a water window. It shows me my body at the present time." He muttered. He didn't like the way he was talking, like he was possessed or something.

Soon a simple room with a bed and chair appeared. There were only two people in the room. "There you are." Haku said, touching the water with his finger.

"Hey, yeah! But… I'm in the hospital. Why's that? And who's that girl?" He asked. He watched as she talked to herself.

"You better wake up soon, Nitis. How can we help you if you're asleep?" She muttered. It sounded like they were listening through a speaker.

Naruto closed his eyes. "This girl seems a little familiar… like I've met her before."

Haku glanced over to him. "Maybe you're remembering things that your body has experienced since you've been here. Try thinking about her and see what comes up." He suggested.

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. "Let's see… I see her, and two others. No, three. I can see a hand with a scar on it… Ferra!" His eyes snapped open. "Her name's Ferra. She's on a team with Hiroshi Akara and Lucas… And I'm staying with a man named Keru."

Haku nodded. "I see. So it seems like you still have some sort of connection with your body. Maybe you're actually still alive."

Naruto shook his head. "No… I'm pretty sure I died. Why else would I be here?" He asked.

** XxX**

Kaden looked out the window. The day that Naruto had died was the day he decided to take the graduation test with the older students. He had told Iruka about it, and he had agreed.

He had passed with fair ease. A simple clone justu was child's play for him compared to the shadow clone jutsu Naruto had taught him. He smiled slightly after telling his mother that he'd passed and became a Genin. She wasn't very happy.

A figure in the sky caught his eye. He sat up off his father's bed to get a better look. He always came here when his parents were working and he had nothing to do.

"That bird…" He muttered. "Ah! It's Aichou!" He jumped off the bed and darted out the door. He ran under it's shadow as it flew on towards the Hokage's tower. His gray blue eyes shimmered as a single ray of light hit his face.

He ran through the front door and rushed past a Chuunin. The young man glanced back as the boy ran up the stairs. "Troublesome." He muttered before continuing to his destination.

"Hokage Lady!" He shouted as he pushed open the doors and rushed into her office. He looked at the large bird sitting at her window, then at the other people there. There was that girl… Sakura, and of course Shizune, not to mention the Hokage herself.

She turned her brown eyes to him. "Kaden Hatake. I did not give you permission to enter, did I?" She asked in a deadly tone.

"Well… no, but I know that bird!" He pointed to it.

Tsunade finished untying the scroll. "Do you now. Well…" She muttered as she read the letter. "Seems like there is a problem in the west. An unrecognizable poison has shown up in a child. This healer is asking for a specialist to go there." She sighed. "Damn. All this trouble." She muttered.

"Sensei," Sakura said. "We don't have many poison specialists. There's you, and Shizune can probably do something to help, but-"

"Sakura, are you forgetting that not to long ago, Naruto was poisoned by something similar." Sakura looked down. It still hurt to hear his name. "He brought back a poison specialist who is better than me. Kaden!" Kaden jumped at his name. "Go get your mother."

She placed her chin in her palm and sighed. "This person must have known Kala before she came here. Although the letter itself is not writing by him, it states that the healer has had contact with her and wishes for her to come and try to help the child. The letter was actually written for Kala… not me." She said.

"Are you going to send her?" Shizune asked.

"Hmm… Only if she wants to go. This is a request to the head of the Sunrise Hospital… We won't be paid, but we can benefit from it." She said.

"Tsunade? You wanted to see me?" Kala asked ten minutes later.

Sakura looked up from her task. "Yes. This belongs to you." She handed her the letter and let her read it. "What do you think?"

"It's interesting." She looked up. "May I go? The village may benefit from it."

Tsunade smiled. "Yes, my thoughts exactly." She opened the second scroll and tossed it to the floor. Nothing happened at first, but after a few moments, the scroll's black writing turned bright blue before releasing a column of smoke.

"A summoning scroll?!" Sakura yelled out as she covered her face from the flash of light and the wave of air. She waited a moment before lowering her arms a bit so she could see what was summoned.

"Whew, I've never done that before!" A male voice said, his body hidden by the fading smoke. She could, however, see his feet. _'Bare feet?'_ She thought.

Tsunade grabbed a small stack of papers and fanned away the remaining smoke. "You must be the guide… Um," Tsunade had to stop and think so that she could remember the protocol for these odd procedures. "State you name, Country, Village, and purpose."

The teenager, who was as tall as Kala, nodded. "Tadashi Jindari from Void Country, Village hidden in the Abyss, and I'm here to escort a poison specialist and any others who may come back to my country." He said in a professional tone.

Tsunade stared at the boy. "You look familiar. Do you have any relatives in Fire Country?" She asked while placing her head in her palm.

"No Ma'am." He replied.

Tsunade glanced at his attire. "You're not really dressed for this mission, boy. Did you even bring any weapons?" She asked.

It was true that he was not dressed for this mission. It was still dark in Void, so he had been asleep. His aunt had made sure that he would be able to respond immediately. He felt the scroll jolt in his hand and instantly bit his thumb and wiped it over the seal. He was only wearing a pair of faded blue sweats and a black sleeveless shirt. Around his wrists and ankles were black bands that she could only assume to be weights.

"Well… I do have _a _weapon… but it'd be pretty stupid to flash it around." He said in a bored tone.

"True." Tsunade muttered. "But it's not like you can get attacked by a summons through a scroll." She said.

"Not true. There is a way to force a summons from not getting to their destination, but I don't know anybody who can do it." He stated. He looked around to check out who all was in the room. "Anyways, I'm going to take a guess that the specialist is going to come with me?"

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. You will take this woman, Kala Wasaki, to you village. Although we're not being paid, I'm going to assign an ANBU to go with her. Is that ok?"

Tadashi stared at her for a moment. "Sure…" He seemed a little unsure.

Tsunade caught this. "What?"

"I don't know what an ANBU is." He said with a small grin. "Are they some sort of rank?"

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. But don't worry too much about it. It's basically like sending a Jonin."

Tadashi nodded. "Ah, I see. That's fine." He looked outside. "Man it sure is bright outside-" His stomach growled and he made a face. "I know this is going to sound a little rude… but I'm starving." He placed his hand on his stomach. "I didn't eat last night, and I really didn't get a chance this morning."

Tsunade smiled. "Understandable. Kala, while I have Rei summomed from his bed, will you take this young man to get some breakfast?"

** XxX**

Shizune knocked on the door to Rei's house. Well, he lived there with his parents and little sister, and his father was really his step father.

A middle aged man opened the door. "Yes?" He asked sleepily.

"I'm here to request your son for a mission-"

"Ah, well Kahn isn't living here anymore. He moved to an apartment in the southern portion of Konoha. Said something about wanting his privacy." He yawned. "I'll give you his address if you want." He muttered as he led the woman into his home. "He's been hiding out there for a while since that boy was killed. Hasn't been to work or anything… the bum." He muttered.

Shizune smiled weakly. _'What a way to talk about your son… step son or not…' _She thought as he stopped and opened a drawer.

"Here you are, then. I figured he'd let your guys know where he moved to. Guess not." He said.

"Have a good day, Miss Shizune." He said as he shut the door to his home.

Shizune looked down at the paper. _'The South part? That's the poorer part of Konoha. Why would he move there, and so suddenly?' _She thought as she hurried to his new location.

When she got there, she lightly knocked on the door. Somebody mumbled something from the other side. When the door opened, it was a teenager with dull blue eyes and wild black hair. "…" He stared at her with gauntly eyes.

"Oh! Excuse me, but is Rei here… or, Kahn-?" She asked, clearly unsure about this boy.

"Rei…?" He muttered as he tilted his head. He slugged his way back into the little apartment, shutting the door so that Shizune couldn't see or hear what was going on.

A moment later, there was a loud yell from behind the door. Shizune knew that yell from having listened to it after Naruto was returned from his little trip with the ANBU member.

Rei pulled open the door as he whispered angrily to the stranger. Shizune narrowed her eyes as she tried to listen, but Rei caught on and stopped. "Sorry about that- Oh, it's just you. What do you want?" He asked as he leaned against his now closed door.

"You haven't been doing your missions I've heard." She said with her arms now crossed.

He licked his teeth. "Yeah… so? Nobody's bothered to come and get me until now, so I didn't feel a need to show up."

"I see…" Shizune said slowly. "Well, anyways, Lady Tsunade has requested you for-"

"Not happening." He said flatly as he crossed his arms in an 'X' fashion. "I'm not accepting any missions right now."

She glared at him with her dark eyes. "I don't think you have a choice. She's requested you to accompany Miss Wasaki on a mission to discover a strange new poison." He stared at her. "Unfortunately, you won't be paid-"

"That's motivation-" He muttered. "Why was _I _chosen to help that crazy woman?"

Shizune blinked. "I'm not talking about Tameka, I'm talking about Kala. She's going to the hidden village up in the Void Country to see if she can help. She'll also be gather data on the situation and retuning her findings to Lady Tsunade. You were chosen probably on the fact that you've already traveled with her before."

Rei's ice blue eyes narrowed. "Couldn't that old woman send someone else to go?"

Shizune shook her head. "No, she specifically asked for you-"

"No! I meant couldn't she have sent another medical ninja." He blurted out.

Shizune narrowed her own eyes in suspicion. "_Why? _What's wrong with Kala going?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I guess that if another medical ninja were to go, then I could get out of it." He turned his head to look down the street. His icy eyes looked as if they were lost somewhere. "I suppose I have no other choice. I hate leaving my cousin here while he's sick, though…" He sighed.

"Your… cousin? Is that who that boy was?" Shizune asked, pointing to the door.

He nodded slowly. "He's really sick and it was Kala who was treating him-"

"So that's why you wanted someone else to go instead of Kala. You should have just said so in the beginning instead of being so difficult. Just take him with you. I'm sure they won't mind if Kala brings a patient with her."

'_This could give me the chance I need to get rid of him.' _"Well, I guess that's ok." He muttered. He opened the door slightly. "Oi, Rauh!" He walked in. "We're going on a mission." He turned to Shizune. "I'll pack and be at the old lady's office in a few… Am I going as an ABO?" He asked. 

"A…BO? What-?" Shizune figured it out. "Yes, this is an ANBU black op mission."

He nodded before shutting the door. He leaned on the other side and waited for her to leave. A wicked smirk fell over his lips. "Abyss, huh?" He turned his wild icy eyes onto Rauh, who was standing in the middle of the room, his focus on a fly buzzing around. The black haired boy's mouth hung open as he watched the bug.

"Quit that, you." Rei muttered as he rustled around for his discarded cloths. "I've gotta take you with me." He straitened up with a tight black sleeveless shirt within his grip. "It's almost too perfect." He muttered.

** XxX**

Rei, Kala, and Rauh all stood before Tsunade's desk. The blonde was staring at the dark haired cousin of Rei's. She had been told by Kala that she had been treating him because he was ill. It was only common sense to let her take him on the trip. _'I know I've seen that boy before… but I can't think of where or when.'_ She thought.

She turned to Tadashi. "Are you ready?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yeah." He looked at the group of three. He had laughed at the ANBU member when the navy haired man walked in wearing an odd looking mask, but was told that he was the black op that was going with him. "Are you ready?" He asked.

Kala and Rei both nodded while Rauh simply stared at him like a lifeless doll.

"Good." He turned to the female hokage. "I'll make sure that a notice is sent when they arrive and a day before I send them back." The old woman nodded.

"Very well." She turned to her subordinate. "Take care."

Tadashi flipped his bangs out of his face as he flicked his head to the side. He bit his finger and slid it over the now open scroll in his other hand. "Alright." He muttered as he motioned for the other three to touch the center scroll. The masked man had to move his cousin's hand to touch the scroll. A moment later, the room was filled with a white smoke.

Sakura coughed as waved the smoke out of her face. She peered into the white cloud with her sea green eyes and could tell that the group was gone. "To Abyss…" She muttered.

* * *

**I am extremely sorry about the long wait. About a week ago I had managed to type four pages of the meeting with Naruto, Life, and Death... but idk what happened to it!!! I was not a very happy girl. But this was originally going to be split into two chapters, but I decided to merge the two, take out the meaningless parts (for the most part) and just make it a longer chapter. This being said, I've secured a chapter just for Naruto and Death's meeting. One of you readers knows what this means. And sorry Haku showed up out of nowhere. I wasn't sure who to pick and thought he would be useful later on.**

**There were many of you who wanted Sakura to go, or even Tsunade. Not one person (who's read the first story) said anything about Kala. If you don't know, she was the one who healed Naruto during the Sunrise Arc back in Lmwig. As for letting Sakura go... that was a complete NO. Sakura will never venture into Void, sorry. But don't worry, everything will turn out ok in the end. Oh yeah, Naruto is currently thirteen, he 'died' on his birthday.**

**If you are unaware of it, this story will not be following the Shippuuden story line. There will be characters from it, and I may get a few ideas while reading the recent chapters, but for the most part, nothing will be the same. I came to that decision after one of the recent chapters dealing with Naruto's mother and father. Although their names and identitiy (the father) were told, I don't plan on changing anything about Tarsa Uzumaki, my Naruto mom. I will change Arashi's name to Minato because he's only mentioned... twice? He'll make an appearance in this story because I love him. lol. There will be no Kushina, sorry.**

**One more announcement. I have revised the first chapter and posted it in the new story area as His undetermined path (sounds a little Neji-ish, ne?) I hope you all check it out since it actually plays a huge role (yes, just that one chapter!) in this chapter, not to mention later chapters. But when you read it, you may be confused, and that is my intentions. If you are a sharp thinker and remember things very well... you may understand. I hope you all get the clue about this chapter and its first chapter. **

**Thanks for reading and I hope you all review. If your confused then ask me a question in the review or PM me... I love those! (sorry about sounding super serious, but my computer won't let me make my little faces)**


	6. The start of awakening

**The only move is forward**

**? Arc**

**The start of awakening**

* * *

Rei followed closely behind Kala and the woman who was said to be the leader of the village, his cousin Rauh walking obediently next to him. He was listening intently to what the two women were saying about the sick child and the doctor who had requested her. 

"I haven't seen him in a few years. He's got a sister in Sunrise and he would visit her and her kids occasionally. He even watched my son for me on his last visit." Kala said to Kalari. "So he couldn't do anything for this kid?" She asked.

"No. I truthfully don't think we have all the proper equipment for whatever needs to be done." Kalari said as she led them through the hospital. "And if that isn't bad enough, the boy that has the poison is a child one of my subordinates found recently. He doesn't have any memories of his past except for a few names. My sister said that he reminded her of a child growing and learning at a fast pace."

Kala nodded. "That is troublesome isn't it." She smiled. "I have a similar case right here." She said as she pointed to Rauh. "I don't know what's wrong with him, but he's not physically sick or anything. I think his mind was badly injured."

"So is he permanently damaged?" Kalari asked.

Kala shrugged. "I'm not sure. It's not really in my area to deal with mind injuries." She sighed. "I thought about asking Tsunade of the Sannin to help, but she's been so busy with being the Hokage that I figured I'd wait until some of the problems in the village are settled." She said.

"You mean a Sannin is the leader of the village you come from?! Where was that again?"

"Konoha, the Leaf Village." She replied.

"Hmm… Didn't I send that letter to Sunrise though?" Kalari asked herself.

Kala laughed. "Yes, but I recently moved back to my old village because of my son."

"I see." Kalari stopped. "Here we go." She said as she pushed open the door. There were only two people inside the room, one was Nitis and the other was Kanda. "Kanda, I've brought the woman Gota recommended."

The woman's navy blue eyes darted up from the sentence she had been reading. "Thank you for coming." She said as she stood up to greet the woman properly.

"It's no big deal. Where's Gota. I'll need him here with the data before I can do anything…" She sighed. "I guess I can look at his physical appearance." She muttered.

She walked over to the sleeping boy and looked down at his face. She lightly pushed up his blonde bangs and asked "You say this boy just showed up here? How long ago was that?" She muttered slowly. It hurt to look at him.

Kanda and Kalari looked at each other. "Well, my brother-in-law found him lying somewhere in one of our boarder cities. I'd say it was probably… maybe about two weeks ago?" Kanda nodded.

"And what has he been involved in while he was here?" Kala asked.

"I'd have to ask my son for most of that information, but he's twisted his ankle, was attacked by a rouge from another country, and had a close call with a back injury." Kanda counted on her fingers. "That's all I know of."

"I see." She said slowly.

'_Man… if he doesn't be careful he's going to get killed before anything happens.' _Rei thought as he made a face behind his mask.

* * *

Kala read over the information that her old friend had given her. "This is unusual." She muttered. "According to this, the substance has mainly gathered around the abdominal organs, but small amounts have been found in the heart and reparatory system. Luckily, there's nothing harming his brain at the moment." She muttered. 

"Correct." Gota said with a small nod.

"But this substance… it isn't doing anything as of right now. No harm… no new damage to the organs?"

"Right. He's also been having mysterious attacks where he screams out in pain. I fear that it might be some sort of torture genjutsu. It could even be the reason for his amnesia." Gota concluded. "Unfortunately, this poison has done major damage to the chakra network around his abdomen. I sent a camera into this incision here…" He lifted up Nitis's shirt and showed her the stitches in his stomach.

"You didn't heal him? Is that so you wouldn't have to make a new incision incase you had you go back in?" She asked.

Gota shook his head. "No, it's because I can't." He said as he snipped the stitches. "But as I was saying, you can visually see the burn marks along the organs. Here." He handed her a few pictures.

She narrowed her eyes. "This is bad. I'm going to say that this… toxin, is only targeting the chakra network, but is also slowly infecting the other organs although they're not harming them yet. If they react in a similar matter… he could explode."

Gota stared at her. "You came to _that _conclusion with just this?" He asked, clearly shocked.

"Yes. The chakra network does not leak because there's really nothing there to hold the chakra in. Kind of like gravity… like the way all the planets continue to revolve around the sun. Somehow it says in a steady stream, or a track. But, his chakra could change temperature, or fluctuate even. This could cause his body to either melt or freeze… and with the fluctuation, his organs could implode. Once that happens, his chakra would have no track. This means that it would just bounce around inside until his body couldn't take the new temperature. The chakra would try and get away from the new body temperature by quickly pushing its way out of the body, and thus, explosion. This is mostly theory, though." She stated.

Gota nodded. "I suppose so, but say your theory proves false? Although I'm seeing the burn marks, I've never heard of chakra burning someone in such a way. Only when it has been released for a jutsu. What could cause it then?"

Kala shrugged. "I don't know. I could only think of the one thing. I know people occasionally have an increased burst of chakra, called spikes. The burnt areas around his organs are probably where his chakra spiked in a small amount. It's odd that the burn marks look like lines, though."

"Miss Kala, remember the boy back home? The one who had chakra reducing seals placed on him because of chakra spikes? Could this be similar to that situation?" Rei asked. He wasn't actually supposed to speak unless spoken too, but that's why he wasn't the best ANBU member out there.

Kala shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't know. We never did a scan. Never had the chance, really." She glanced back down at Nitis. "But it seems like a similar case. This boy, though, hasn't had any physical effects like the boy back home. Unless…" She grabbed Nitis's hand.

Kanda looked from Kala to the sickly looking boy standing next to the ANBU member. She couldn't shake the feeling that she'd met him before. '_Those eyes…'_ "Oh, Um… yes."

Kala was looking at the boy's hand. '_There's nothing here. If his chakra is acting so unstable, then it would show here… on his palm. Maybe…' _She uncovered his feet and looked for any sign of burning. His feet, along with his palms, were both cold.

"Gota… you say you haven't been able to heal him? For how long?"

"Well, I took the pictures this morning. I could heal him when he was first admitted, but now, nothing."

Kala nodded. "This is odd. There's only one thing I can think of that could stop the healing process in such a way besides this toxin and that's-"

"Liquid chakra." Rei said from his spot near Nitis.

"Right." Kala nodded to him.

"I thought that was just a myth." Kanda said.

Gota put his chin on his wrist so that he could think. "I never thought about that." He muttered. "I guess it's possible, but I've never had any experience dealing with myths before-"

"It's not a myth. I had to deal with it not too long ago. When chakra liquefies, it seeps though the pores and either turns into a mist or solidifies. It coats the possessor in a shield of some sort. I believe that the person's most dominate element will be the sort of pain it will inflict. "Show them, Rei." She made an upward movement with her hand.

"Uh… what?" He said from behind his mask.

She walked over to him and started to pull on his outfit. "Show them your scars from you … liquid… chakra… Gah!" She finally managed to get his shirt off. She was shorter than him, but not by a huge amount.

He had struggled with her to keep his shirt on, but instead of just loosing his shirt, he lost his mask as well. "H-hey!" He yelled down at her, his tan face completely red.

Kala grabbed his shoulders and turned him around so that Gota could see the three red marks on his back. "Why are you so embarrassed?" She asked.

"I- I can take my own cloths off." He stuttered in an attempted bold tone.

"Just shut up and let them see what liquid chakra does to you." She said. "He was directly hit by liquid chakra, on these red marks. I'd say it was large amount, because another young man who was hit by it was only hit by a faint mist, so it only burned his skin. I think it also tampers with the mind if inhaled." She said.

Gota nodded, but then took his finger away from his chin. "But wait… he hasn't been in contact with anything like that. By the way you described it, the effect of being hit by this liquid chakra would be immediate. As far as I know, there's been no attack on him while he's been here."

Kala smiled slightly. "I know, but did you stop and think that maybe his body is producing it?"

Kanda, Kalari, and Gota all stared at her. Rei even gave her an odd look as he pulled his shirt back on. "His body? Producing some anti healing chakra?" Kanda asked, almost horrified.

Kala nodded. "Yeah. I can only assume at this point in time, though." She looked over at Rauh. "Hey Gota, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure. Anything… since you came all the way out here."

She walked behind Rauh and put her hands on his shoulders. He was nearly as tall as her. "Well, while I'm working on this young boy, could you maybe take a look at him and give me a synopsis of what you think could be done for him?"

"Absolutely." He said. "I'll get started right away since I've got nothing else to do at this time. I'll leave young Nitis here in your care." He smiled at the dark haired boy. "Come this way…um…"

"His name's Rauh." Rei said.

"Well then, Rauh, let's take a blood test to start things off."

Rei poked Rauh in the back with his index finger. "Go with him and do what he says, kid." As his cousin and Gota left the room, he glanced down at the mask in his hand. "So much for not showing my face." He mumbled.

There was silence for a moment after Gota and Rauh left. Kala glanced of at Nitis and sighed. "What could I do with you?" She asked herself. "First I have to extract the poison from your body. That's going to take a while." She muttered to herself.

* * *

Tadashi leisurely walked down the street with his arms behind his head. He never went home to change out of his pajamas, so that's where he was headed at the moment. He was still thinking about that village he had been summoned to earlier that morning. 

"Tadashi!" A female voice called from his right. He turned his head and found himself looking at his father and his Genin team.

'_Oh jeez.' _He thought as he turned to walk over to them. "Don't you guys ever do anything besides eat?" He asked his dad.

"Of course! But all our recent missions are D-rank and are easy to accomplish." Ferra said with a big smile.

He rolled his dark blue eyes. "You guys haven't left the village since you brought Nitis home, right?" He asked to the group. The three Genin nodded while his dad just stared at the ceiling with a bored expression. "Maybe Kalari doesn't want you to bring home anymore strangers." He said.

"Wrong." Lucas said. "Keru Sensei is being lazy and taking most of the D-ranks before the others can."

Hiro nodded. "Good thing you didn't accuire any of your father's lazy habits- Ow!" He was stopped by a fist to the top of the head by Keru. Lucas got the same punishment.

"I'm not lazy, boys. I'm just staying near by. I don't need that Nitis kid to get into any trouble, and this way I can keep a close watch on him."

"Oh. By the way, dad. The medic that Kalari had sent for arrived a while ago. She brought some special body guard and another patient with her. You might want to check them out sometime today."

The man nodded. "Probably. Maybe I'll be able to get you mother out of there. She's gotten too attached to that mindless kid."

Tadashi frowned. "He's not mindless, he's just sick. And he's pretty cool."

Keru snorted a word that sounded like "_Optimistic kid." _

* * *

Ashton made his way down the hospital halls, looking for his mom. He still had a horrible headache, but he could think clearly now. Whatever that… thing… was, he was sure that it had saved him. '_Something dark's being hidden away. That silver thing saved me, but what is it hiding?' _He thought. 

It felt like he had a fever when he had woken up from that event. His mind felt like it was ablaze even now, but it was a dull warmth instead of an unbearable burning sensation.

"For now, I'll do a blood transfer. It's a long process and it has been know to fail… but I have to delude the blood first. It's the only way to kill it. I'm going to assume you're the guardian of this boy, so I'll give you time to think it over. It may sound like a simple procedure, but I can assure you that it is far from it." A strange new voice came from a nearby room.

"Absolutely. I'll ask him about it once he wakes up." His mother's voice said.

"Then I'll leave you two for now. I'm going to see where I'm staying, if that's ok. Come on, Rei."

The door he was standing by opened and two strange people appeared within its frame. The woman stared at him, and he did the only thing he could think of… stare back. It wasn't until her companion, a young man not much older than himself appeared over her shoulder.

"What's the holdup?" the navy haired man asked.

His eyes locked with the strangers'. His eyes pierced through him like an ice stake through the chest. Ashton knew… this man was wild and untamed. He caught a slight movement of the stranger's pupils before a shiver ran down his spine.

He moved out of their way, muttering a weak "sorry" as they passed. He couldn't keep eye contact with that man any longer. For some reason, he felt like a young child as the grownups passed by, towering over him.

As Rei passed, he watched the boy break contact with him. "Freak." He said with a faint smirk.

"Who are you talking to?" Kala asked.

Rei shrugged. "That kid back there. Kept staring at me like I was a circus animal."

Kala glanced at him over her shoulder. "I'd stare at you, too."

Rei smirked. "At my handsome looks-"

Kala cut him off in mid laugh. "Barely. You're just a walking circus." She smiled as she walked out the main doors. Once the doors were closed her smile faded. "What are you going to do with him, Rei? He's supposed to be dead." She whispered.

Rei looked at a large gray cloud looming by the mountains in the distance. "I haven't gotten that far yet, woman. We'll be here a while. I'll figure out a way to get rid of him before we have to return. Even if he has to die again."

"And… him? What about him?"

"They'll know better. I can't guarantee much time for him. Keeping him alive is the most important mission we have right now." Rei muttered.

"Hmm… A mission, you say? One that only the two of us know about?" Kala smiled again.

Rei nodded. "Yeah. But… you're part is almost over in it, and I'll make sure they can't track it back to you once it's over."

Kala glanced at him again. "Then this mysterious mind made mission will just be yours, right?"

Rei sighed. "Yeah… mine. Mine and his alone."

* * *

Kanda glared at her sister. "Wait a minute… how come you're considered the guardian?! I'm the one raising him." 

Kalari smirked. "Well, for one thing, I don't think little brother Keru-" Kanda sighed a 'please don't call him that.' "trusts the little rascal… and probably doesn't like him being in his house. You should know better than anyone that he's paranoid."

Kanda nodded.

"Two." She held up two fingers. "He may be living in your house, but when I agreed to bring him into the village, I agreed to take care of him. I just pawned him off onto my loving relatives. That is my power of being the village leader. And three-" She added a finger. "This way I can monitor that nobody gets too close to him. Hopefully we can send him back to his home when he's better."

"Oh."

"Oh's right little sister." She turned her head. "Come on in here, son." She said to the teenager standing in the doorframe. "What is it?"

Ashton sighed. "Well… I just, um-"

"Spit it out, boy."

"I wanted to tell you what I saw in Nitis's mind that day." He said.

The sisters stared at him with identical navy eyes. "Very well." His mother said with a small sigh. "Let's hear-"

"Kalari!" A familiar blonde rushed in. "Bad news from Kaido's squad!" Seth looked a little shaken. "He lost one of his Genin."

Kalari's face hardened. "Lost… as in how?"

"Lost as in killed." He said sternly.

Kalari sighed. "This isn't good. Ashton, go ahead and tell your aunt about what happened. I'll take care of this." As the two rushed out, Kalari asked, "who was it?"

"Aden Nakinu. Adell and the others don't know yet…" Their voices faded as they rushed down the hall.

Kanda looked back at Nitis. His eyes open and staring at the door. "Oh! Nitis, when did you wake up, dear?" She asked.

He turned his head to looked at her. "Just as that guy ran in." He muttered. "Someone died?" He asked.

Kanda stood up and walked up next to his head. "Yeah."

"That means… that they can never come back… you never see them again." He muttered.

Kanda put her hand on his head. "That's right."

* * *

Naruto watched as his body slowly talked back on earth. He had been watching it like a movie. He was never hungry or thirsty, but he missed the taste of ramen and other foods. "That's right… the old man died back when I was alive." He said to himself. Haku had wondered off for a while and hadn't been back since. 

His body sat up suddenly. The woman who had been stroking his hair looked a little shocked. "N-nitis?"

"The old man died back while I was alive." Nitis muttered.

Naruto stared. '_Hey… I just said that… but he did, too!' _He thought as he pushed himself into a more alert sitting position. "I wonder why that happened."

His body didn't move this time. "Maybe I can still do some things since my body's down there. Like Gaara's brother and his crazy puppets." He stretched his arm out and moved his fingers.

Nothing moved on his body. The woman was trying to talk to him, but the body wasn't responding. "Hmm… I wonder why it didn't work. Maybe I have to pretend I'm down there or something." With his eyes closed, he imagined himself in the room with that Kanda lady and that Ashton boy.

"Nitis! Are you ok? Say something."

Naruto opened his eyes. He was staring right into dark navy blue ones with long eyelashes. "What?" He muttered.

"Oh good. You're ok." She sighed. Ashton was right next to him as well. He looked a little shaken up because he couldn't get a response out of the boy.

'_No way. That really didn't just happen…' _He thought as he looked around wildly.

"What's the matter?" Ashton asked.

"What's going on?" He asked. "Am I really alive?!" He almost yelled.

Kanda and Ashton stared at him. "Yes…" Ashton said slowly. "You may be a little sick, but you haven't died just yet."

Naruto smiled. "This is crazy." He moved his hands.

"Nitis?"

"No… I'm Uzuma-"

"Hello?" Someone said from the door. "Oh, sorry, I though Gota was in here." A woman said as she quickly walked away.

* * *

"This is turning out to be quite interesting." Death said as he watched the scene, Naruto's spirit body very faded, but still sitting in the same position it had been for a while now. A bright blue strand of spirit energy was flowing into the picture. He could see that the strand was connected to the body's forehead. 

"So that's how you've been doing it, you troublesome thing." He muttered. "I'll have to bring a stop to this before Life finds out." He said to himself as he tightly grabbed onto the strand and pulled it away from the spirit body. The faded body started to become less transparent.

* * *

"You remember your name?!" Ashton almost yelled. "What is it?" 

Naruto scrunched his brows. "Nar… o… Uzu…uzuma… He put his hand up to his forehead. "Ow…" He muttered. "I'm here… alive and dead…" His eyes drooped. "I can still… still come back-" He started to fall out of his bed, but Ashton caught him.

"Nitis?" Kanda asked.

"Maybe… he's not awake yet… so I can't come back… We have to come back… together." He muttered before his body became limp in Ashton's arms.

"Wha-"

"Don't worry, Kanda. He's just passed out." Ashton reassured his aunt so that she wouldn't smother the younger boy. "We should get someone to look at him, though. Maybe his memories are starting to come back."

* * *

Death stared at the glowing orb in his hand. It was the connection between Naruto and Nitis. "He was almost completely back into his body. But as long as he doesn't have _this_… he held the orb closer to his face, "he can't go back." He let out a loud, deep laugh as he disappeared, leaving Naruto's spirit body lying next to his only way to see his body.

* * *

**Awakening- 20 percent**

* * *

**Hey everyone. Sorry about the wait, but I've been busy with school. I had to raise some grades so that meant working extra hard on homework and less on my stories. Then while I was working, I caught the writers block flu, and that sucked. But once this week rolled around, my cat had to go into surgury and there was almost no work to do, so it gave me a chance to work on this.**

**I'm a little unhappy about it, though. I wanted it to be longer, but that didn't work out too well... sorry. I won't have Kala be there for a long time. Maybe another two chapters. But as you can see, Rei's up to something, and Kala knows about some of it because they know that the boy is Naruto. Can you figure out who all the he's and theys are in their serious conversation? If you can then you'll know more than others. I'll PM you if you want to know if you're right or not. **

**AND... Yay! Naruto came back for a little bit. He almost gave out his name, but when Death detached that memory chord he stopped remembering. I thought that alone would make you guys happy, even if he had to leave his body again. I'll say this, he won't be able to do that again. I don't like Death, so he's the bad guy... well... one of them.-smiles-**

**Oh yeah, I'm renaming the Arcs, and I don't have a name for this new one (probationary arc actually comes later) so it's just a ? mark. I'll think of something and fix it soon.**

**Blackblaze**


	7. Leavings and greetings

**The only move is forward**

**Probationary Arc**

**Leavings and greetings**

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to greet unfamiliar green ones. He stared at them for a moment before sitting up, completely ignoring the fact that there were three people staring down at him. Looking around, he realized he was right back to where he started… dead.

"I wonder what happened." He asked himself.

"Someone ripped your memory chord out of your forehead, boy." A rough voice said. Naruto tilted his head up to see a middle aged man in his mid to late forties staring at him with dark green eyes.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"They were drawn to you, Naruto." Haku said from behind one of the adults.

Naruto stared at him for a moment. "Hey… where'd you go earlier. You missed out on what I did-"

"You sent your spirit down your memory chord and reconnected with your body." The older man said.

Naruto glared at him. "I did what? No… I'm alive-"

"Not for long if you keep acting stupid, boy. You can't act so rashly when Death is wandering around." The man said.

Naruto made a face and stood up quickly. "Listen here you old geezer! I'm not taking advice from some dead guy! Looks like you followed it and look where it got you!"

The young man with long brown hair held in a low ponytail smiled, while the young woman next scowled. "How dare you speak to my father in such a disrespectful way!"

"Please Narta… it's only logical of him to assume such things. I mean, we didn't live too long ourselves." He said with his hands up by his chest.

Naruto took in the three stranger's profiles. All had brown hair but the older man's was faded slightly by gray. All three had green eyes… and they all looked similar. He figured they were all related since the woman called the older man her father. The younger man must be her brother or cousin.

Naruto's face dropped into his usual annoyed, fox like features and turned to Haku. "So who are these crazies?"

The elder man looked at his two children and mouthed the word "crazies," to them. The both of them shrugged and shook their heads.

"I think that someone once told me that you are drawn to others who were important during your life." The feminine looking boy said.

Naruto stared up at the three stranger's faces. "Yeah well… I've never met any of these guys before."

"And I think I'd remember a filthy mouthed blonde boy going on verbal rampages." The old man replied in a bored tone. "This boy is nothing to us. Let's get out of here before he gives me a migraine."

Naruto spun on his toes. "Do you even know who I am?!"

The old man looked over his shoulder. "I think we've established the answer to that."

Naruto glared at him. Both the old man and the woman started to head away, but the young man stayed. He was studying the blonde's face. "Sorry about my dad. He's always been like that, even when he was alive."

Naruto snorted. "Yeah right." He turned and plopped back down on to the ground. He made a few hand motions and the animated picture of his body came into view. He sighed. "Now I'm stuck back here again. It was nice being able to breathe, even if it was hospital air."

* * *

Nitis opened his eyes. "What happened?" He muttered. He had been standing in front of a cage just a while ago. There had been a small stream of water leaking from the bottom of the massive cage, and it had scared him because when it touched the bottoms of his feet, it burned.

Kanda was standing nearby talking to Keru while that specialist was talking to his previous doctor. "Ashton said he met up with something silver that saved him in Nitis's mind. He also said there's something with large red eyes living in a cage within Nitis's mind."

"I told you that something's wrong with that boy. No normal kid should be keeping monsters locked away in his mind." Keru muttered.

"Surely it was just an illusion." Kanda said.

"Or maybe it's the something keeping his memories locked up. We can't be sure of anything right now."

"You're just too cautious, Keru. That's why you never progressed past finding out your name and a few faces." Nitis felt uncomfortable listening to their argument, so he turned to listen to Gota and that Kala woman.

"I think we should start today. Right away, actually." She looked at the clock and sighed. "I don't want to wait any longer, and from what you said, Kalari is dealing with a serious matter right now."

"But what about her being his guardian?" Gota asked. "You can't start without her permission."

"She basically gave it to me. I just need Naruto's consent."

Gota gave her an odd look. "His name is Nitis, Kala."

Her skin paled. "Sorry… I'm getting my patients mixed up. Naruto was the last boy I preformed this procedure on." She put her hand to her forehead. "I'll just ask the boy."

She turned and was startled to find the boy staring at her. "Oh, Nitis! Good thing you're up." She walked up to him and bent over a bit. "Did you overhear my conversation with Gota? About the procedure I'm going to do to save you?"

"Oh, yeah… I did." He said. Keru and Kanda both stopped their hushed arguing to watch. "You can do it." He looked up at her with determined eyes. "I can't do anything if I'm dead, right?" He said.

Nobody spoke for a few moments. "And… what is it you have to do?" Kanda asked from her corner.

Nitis looked over to her. "I'm not sure, but I have to do it. I made a promise."

Kala smiled. "I heard you had some sort of memory jolt. Almost said your name, too."

"I remember feelings and voices. I can even remember how to walk up a tree and across water." He smiled. "I think… that I was a ninja."

"That's good." Kalari's voice said from the doorway having just arrived. "Because once your better you'll be a temporary ninja for Void Country." She said sternly. "It'll be something like a payment until we can find your home. It's a fair trade, right?"

Nitis nodded. "Yeah."

Kanda tried to protest. "Ka-kalari, wait! You can't just force him into something as dangerous as-"

She narrowed her eyes and said in a serious tone "I can. If he remembers something about being a ninja, then he should continue being a ninja. Simple logic. Plus it's perfect timing since we just lost one today."

"Perfect timing? That's horrible way to put it, Kalari." Keru said bluntly.

"It's the only way I _can _put it, Keru." She said.

"Hey, the longer you guys talk, the longer we have to stay here." Rei said from the window. Everyone turned to him. "Sorry to interrupt you guys. But I heard a 'I have to do it,' so get with it."

"Rei! I told you to watch Rauh." Kala scolded.

Rei's face read boredom all over it. He pointed down past the window where the others couldn't see. "He's hanging on right here. Don't worry about the kid, just do what you came to do.

Kala walked over and whacked him on the head with her fist. "You're such a rude child, Rei. Take Rauh back to the room Gota left him in."

Rei growled, but slowly, crawled back down the side of the building and into an open window on the first floor.

She turned and clapped her hands one. "Although he was rude… he's right. I have all the tools prepared already so you guys can go on home or into a waiting room. It'll take a while before I've finished the first series of delusion." She shooed them all out except Gota.

"How many people will you need on this?" He asked as he watched her pull out a syringe from her pocket.

"Just two will be fine… and myself." She shook it and then pulled off the cap. "This might sting, so go ahead and close your eyes." She instructed. She lightly moved one finger over the spot where she was going to stick the needle, then made a circular motion right above the spot.

Nitis didn't even know when he had been pricked, or when it was over. "You can open your eyes, Nitis." She said. He looked up and watched as she pulled a machine over that was making a faint buzzing sound. She put something on his face that lightly blew air into his nose while Gota pulled out an IV and gave it to Kala.

"So, what do I have to do?" He asked her. Gota walked out.

"Nothing. You'll go to sleep while I drain some of your blood and put some back in. That's all. You may feel a little nauseous after you wake up, but that's normal." She said quietly. Gota walked back in with a woman in her early thirties.

He felt Kala rubbing his arm again and felt a tiny prick. "There. Now just relax." He nodded as he leaned back on his pillow. He could hear a faint buzz in his ear and soon, his vision started to get a little whiter and blurrier.

The next thing he remembered was the beeping heart monitor next to his head. He opened his eyes and looked around to see who was in the room with him. There wasn't anyone. He felt alone, but he felt slightly comfortable at the same time.

The door opened and Kala walked in. She was looking over some papers. She didn't look him in the eyes, but instead lifted his blankets and pulled up his shirt. "Maybe I'll take some from the veins behind his legs next time." She muttered to herself as she ran her finger across something soft and padded on his stomach. He glanced down at it to see that it was one of four on his stomach. "I hate draining it from here." She muttered.

"Hey, K-kala." He said. He still felt drowsy. She jumped and dropped her papers. "How long have I been asleep?"

"N-nitis! I can't believe your already awake! We just finished maybe three minutes ago. We haven't even told Kalari or Kanda about being done." She put her index finger on her chin and walked around him. "You're either just waking up now because we didn't use enough Anesthesia or you're slightly immune to it and it doesn't affect you as well." She concluded to herself.

"Oh."

She bent down to pick up her scattered papers. "Well, so far you're doing really well. I'd say you can leave the hospital in about… two weeks? Maybe three. I'll give you a shot daily after you're released, and that'll kill the nasty intruder in your body. I think we'll only be here… at the most about a month."

"What are you going to do with the bad blood you took out of me?" He asked.

"Hmm? Oh, well, I'll separate the toxin from the blood and collect enough of it so that I can make an antidote. I can't be sure if an antidote would work, though, because we can't be sure how fast it spreads. If it spreads too quickly, then an antidote may be worthless. Who knows."

"Kala… you sure say a lot, don't you?" He asked.

She stopped a moment before she started laughing. "Haha… Yeah, I guess so. Just want to get what I have to say out there before anyone else, though-" Rei appeared, his mask back on his face.

"Kala, I've found somewhere to take Rauh. I'm going to move him before he causes any trouble, ok? I'll be back tomorrow."

"Fine." She said in a serious tone. She glanced back to Nitis. "Don't worry about that, ok." He nodded before yawning. "You look a little tired. You should go back to sleep."

He nodded. "Thanks a lot for helping me."

She patted his head. "It's no big deal." His eyes closed. "Not if it's for you-" '_Naruto…'_

* * *

The month came and went. Nitis had been released from the hospital two and a half weeks in, and by the nearing end of November, he was completely poison-free. Kala had told Gota she'd send him the data she collected from the poison.

She had said goodbye to everyone and along with Rei and Tadashi as a guide, returned back to Konoha.

Tsunade had prepared for their return and had made sure the windows were open. There was something about people being summoned through scrolls that made a large amount of smoke.

Sakura, Ino, and Neji were practicing with simple poisons and their simple antidotes on the floor near Tsunade's desk. None of them were very chatty since they were taking their new roles so seriously.

Neji had been summoned by Tsunade to come, and she informed him that along with Hinata, they were both very good at chakra control and they now required to learn medical ninjutsu along with Sakura and Ino. Neji had only made one complaint, and that had been about not being able to go on as many missions now.

Hinata had actually became Kala's apprentice two days after she had found out about Naruto's death. She had been shocked horribly, along with all the other remaining Genin and adults who were close to the boy, since her team had been away and hadn't found out about it until after he was buried. She was currently being taught in the Nara's lab by someone else until Kala returned. Her missions were not quite as restricted as the three sitting on the floor of the Hokage's office, though.

Ino growled a bit before the paper sitting in front of her blew up in her face. Out of the three Genin sitting here, She had the least amount of chakra control while Sakura had the most. The blonde was only one step behind Neji, though, while he was about eight behind Sakura.

"Careful, Ino. You added a bit too much chakra into mixing them. Try to keep your mind calm. You too, Neji-" Three figures appeared in the middle of the room, blowing all the loose papers around and startling the Genin trio sitting on the floor into a standing position, kunai's drawn.

Tsunade liked their alertness. "Easy. It's just Kala Wasaki and a guide from the Void Country.

"Hey! What the hell about me? Am I nothing? A nobody?" An irritated voice said as a figure walked up to the desk. His face was revealed because he had yanked off his mask.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and turned her head to the side. "Of course."

This just caused the teen to get mad and start spurting off nonsense.

The Genin weren't bothered by the hot headed Black Op, but were quite interested with the brunette with the bright orange headband. Although Sakura had seen him before, he looked completely different now that he was dressed in more than pajamas.

"Hey, he's kinda cute, isn't he?" Ino asked in a low whisper to her friend. Neji just rolled his eyes.

"Well now that Rei's released some of his frustration, how did it go?" Tsuande asked.

"I managed to destroy all the toxic substance within the boy and brought a large sample of the pure substance back. I promised to send our findings back."

"Very well."

Rei's face became more serious as Kala continued. "The boy seems fine as well. He's a little shaky and doesn't know much about himself. Gota said he's improving… remembering little at a time, though."

"Good. I notice your cousin is… not with you, Rei." Tsunade noted.

'_Uh-oh… I knew she'd say something about him being gone.' _Kala thought.

"One of the doctors up there was able to help him a little. I just left him there and asked them to take care of him. Kala's doctor said that they'd do it for free since we did ours for free." Rei said.

"Well… I guess that's ok."

Kala mentally sighed. '_So gullible!'_

Tadashi looked over at the younger kids in the room. He waved at them and walked over. "Hey." He spotted Sakura. "I've seen you here before."

"Uh, yeah. I'm the Hokage's apprentice. I'm here a lot." She said.

"I bet that's exciting, huh."

"Not really."

He laughed. "Yeah. I was just trying to be nice. My aunt's the leader at my village. Our village is the least disciplined village around. We don't even have uniforms like you guys."

"Really? I bet Shikamaru would like it up there." Ino said to Sakura.

"Probably. He's pretty lazy."

"Do villages do that? Like… an exchange to see how other villages work. I guess it'd only work with allies or possible allies." Tadashi wondered out loud.

"That actually doesn't sound like such a bad idea. I wonder if Tsunade would considerate that. Maybe start some program or something." Sakura said.

"Well, I wouldn't mind experiencing different villages. This one is really nice- oh?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a scroll. It was glowing. "Hey Lady Hokage. I'm being summoned back. My aunt is going to send you another letter sometime soon." He pulled open the scroll. "Later." He said before disappearing.

* * *

Tadashi returned in his aunts office to be greeted by not only his aunt, but his cousin, Nitis, and his sensei. "You were chit-chatting again, weren't you, Tadashi?" She asked.

He shivered and pulled his jacket tighter around his body. "Yeah, so what? It wasn't freezing there. I wanted to try and thaw out my blood before I came back."

It's true. Winter had come for the northern country of Void. Snow had fallen about a week ago and had made missions harder to complete. Although most of the population had become accustomed to the cold, Tadashi hated it. He and Reno basically became immobile until it started warming up in April.

Kalari shook her head. "Nonsense. You should be used to it. I wanted to tell you that because your squad leader is so childish and can't wait to get away from the two of you, he's been assigned to a mission that will last until next spring. He's going on a guard mission while a lord travels across the continent."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Really really?" Tadashi thought he'd get a little smart with her.

"Tadashi!"

"Sorry."

"Well… Because Aden Nakinu was killed I was going to place him on that squad. But I think he needs to be taught the basics first, even if he already knows them. That'swhat you two will be doing for a while. You'll both be his probationary Chuunins until you both feel he's ready to perform missions with the two of you. Of course, those missions will be level three or four missions."

Ashton sighed. "That's not very exciting, though."

"I don't think your opinion matters at the moment, son." She said with a wicked grin on her face. She loved to rile her son up and tease him. "Well, anyways, I have another probationary student who will be paired up with you guys. She's already fairly far along, but her sister has yet to return from whatever village she went to. She just needs to be checked by you guys for a week or two before I put her on Kaido's team."

"What will you do with Nitis after he's completed his probationary period, Mom?" Ashton asked.

She shrugged. "That has yet to be seen. Just train him up and teach him what he needs to know. Who knows, he said he was a ninja… it might speed up his recovery process."

* * *

The three boys walked down the street, discussing what they were going to do with Nitis and Amaya Kesma, the girl they'd be evaluating. It was the unfortunate task of the Chuunin to train a newbie and give them the ok to then be ranked as an official Genin. Then the Genin are passed on to the Jonin.

Kalari had said to go ahead and meet up with Amaya, and then told them where to find her since she was expecting them.

"Is that her?" Tadashi asked, pointing to a black haired girl with a side ponytail and short, layered bangs. She looked like a tomboy to the Chuunin.

"Probably." Ashton said. He walked up to her. "Are you Amaya?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said, looking up at the older teen. "Are you the guy who's supposed to evaluate me?" She asked.

"Yeah. You're going to be going with us next week on a mission to see how you fair. You'll meet with us every day for training, though."

"Both of you? But I though I only needed one Chuunin." She said, her dark eyes narrowing.

"Aw, well, cutie…" She glared at him." you see, we're doing a joint evaluation. We have to train this guy so that he can get to where you are, so he won't be completing a mission with us for a while. He's going to tag along, though. That's why you're going to show up for his training. It'll benefit you in the end as well." Tadashi said.

She looked suspiciously between the cousins, then at her temporary probation teammate. "Well. Ok I guess. So what's your name?" She asked Nitis.

"Nitis."

"Well, I'm Amaya. Are you just starting out?" She asked.

"Yeah. But I can remember some things I used to do back at my other village now, so I know for sure that I'm a ninja."

She looked back at the two Chuunin with a confused face. "Oh yeah. I forgot to tell sweetie that our boy has a case of amnesia. " He muttered to Ashton. "He'll say things like that to let you know how much he's remembered. Don't think anything of it." He stopped. "Hey… how come you didn't ask us for our names?" He asked her.

"Because everyone knows that Ashton Mekutso is the son of our leader Kalari… and you." She looked back to Tadashi. He was over a foot taller than her. "He's the leader's nephew. Most people should know you."

"Hey Tadashi. We should probably get Nitis some sort of training outfit and get him geared up."

"We're going to start today?!" Tadashi whined. "It's too cold!"

"It's going to be cold until late March or early April. That's the bad thing about living so far north." Ashton said.

"Yeah, but the mountains north of here block a lot of the northern wind, so we're actually better off then the other countries on the other side." Amaya said like it was obvious.

Tadashi looked at his bangs. "Oh… I guess, yeah…" His white haired cousin shook his head.

The group of four found a clothing store and walked in. It took a while for Tadashi and Amaya to agree on anything for Nitis. He didn't really care what he wore right now. He just wanted something warm.

Nitis looked around at the different outfits. There were bright colored cloths and dark colored cloths. He didn't know what he liked.

"How about this?" Tadashi held up a red and black jacket.

"I don't like the red very much."

"What are you talking about girly? You're _wearing _red." Tadashi pointed to her forehead.

"Yeah, but I have dark hair. He's got blonde. He needs something like… this, or this." She held up a white jacket with black shoulders and hood and then a brown jacket with green sleeves and a black hood.

Ashton somehow got dragged into the argument on what the blonde should wear to training, so Nitis felt the urge to go to the other side of the store. He started going through the cloths, not knowing what to look for.

He looked through the hangers and finally pulled out a black jacket with an orange hood and from the elbows down the rest of the sleeves were orange as well. He slung it over his shoulder and found a pair of black pants to go with it.

"Hey… Hey you guys." He said from his place across the room. '_They're not listening.' _He thought, feeling slightly annoyed. It was the first time he'd felt this way since he woke up over a month before. "Guys!" The three turned and found him staring at them. "I found something, ok, so you can stop making all that noise."

Tadashi leaned over to Ashton. "You know, after that weird thing happened to him at the hospital when you were there he's been a lot more verbal."

"Yeah. But I think he got a large jolt that day and a bit of his personality found its way out." Ashton replied.

"I can hear you two." Nitis said from behind them.

"Whoa! How'd you get there?" Tadashi said after he spun around. "You're a stealthy little guy, aren't you."

Nitis stared at him. "I told you I remember a few things about being a ninja. Watch." He said as he walked over to the wall. He put his foot against it.

"Hey… you weren't being serious when you said you could walk on water and up trees, were you?" Ashton asked.

Nitis ignored him and stayed focused. He knew that if he didn't… it'd hurt. He put his other foot next to the first. He took a few steps up the wall.

"He can really climb up walls! He's like a spider!" Tadashi yelled. "That's crazy!" Nitis lightly pushed off the wall and landed on the floor.

"See. I can remember a few things. I told you so." He said.

"Hey Ashton, he might pass along with Amaya next week." Tadashi said as Nitis held out his hand so that his 'foster brother' would give him some money to pay for the cloths. They'd have to get shoes at the next shop.

Ashton watched Nitis. He had really scared him that one time over a month ago, but he really liked his odd personality, even if it wasn't complete. '_This is going to be interesting, being with Nitis more.' _

* * *

**I did all this today except for the very beginging. I'm whiped out. I tried to make it interesting, but idk, I just had to get through Kala being there. I did say that this little thing with Kala and Rei wouldn't last long. I skipped a whole month of nothing, though. I knew you guys didn't want to go through that again. **

**Remember that Naruto was able to return to his body for a bit, although it didn't help since his memory chord (I think I named it that XD) was stollen. But because of that he's able to remember a few instinct things like using chakra. He even remember the water and tree exercises, but can't remember who was around at the time. I want to get him out of this doing nothing stage as fast as possible, so I partnered him up with Amaya to move it along during his probationary period. **

**sigh... what else is there to tell you? Heh... I'm just so tired TT I hate being tired because its when your tired that you want to do things. **

**Oh yeah! I drew a pic of Haru from LMWIG/HUP and Naruto's cousin who I've decided will have a new name and a slightly different role in the first story and this one. You can go to my deviantart account to see it. I was playing w/ the new toys on my cousin's computer If you want to read a fairly new scene from my rewrite (It comes way later in HUP, but I wanted to do it) it's on my live journal. You can find both of them in my profile. I'll warn you though, my haru didn't come out the way I wanted TT. makes me sad.**

**Later! Comments are gas for my modivation tank! lol.**


	8. Temporary team and Nitis’s jutsu

**The only move is forward**

**Probationary Arc**

**Temporary team and Nitis's jutsu**

* * *

Blue eyes locked with black ones. It was early, so early, in fact, that the full moon was the only source of light. It was plenty with all the snow covering the ground, but it was too early, and that was the problem. It was only two in the morning. He ran across the snow, but it was difficult when every two steps he'd sink down into it. It had snowed as they practiced the evening before.

Snow may have been a form of water, but it was the most difficult to move over with chakra. Walls and trees stay still, so those aren't hard to stay attached to. Water may fluctuate, but you can feel it doing so, so you can change your chakra accordingly. Well, snow, Nitis found out, did not.

Two sets of identical blue eyes watched on as Nitis and Amaya rushed around the snow covered area, trying to steal a piece of loosely tired cloth that was tied around their waists. Ashton watched on as Tadashi stayed sitting, curled up in a small ball on the bare tree branch next to him, shivering.

It had amazing the white haired boy that Nitis could climb walls. Seeing as they never did anything like that before, it had seemed unreasonable. But when he started to walk up the wall, he and Tadashi instantly wanted to know how he did it.

_Nitis stood in the middle of three people after he purchased his outfit. "How can you do that?" Amaya asked. She looked as if she'd die if he didn't tell her._

"_Yeah buddy! Is that something you remembered?" Tadashi asked._

_Nitis looked a little annoyed. "I said yes. I remembered a little bit. It was weird because someone took over my body, but I think that he was me. I remembered a lot of things, but only parts of a lot of things. Does that make sense?" He asked himself._

_Ashton shook his head as they left the store. "Absolutely not, but it's something of a start so we'll work with it." He said with a smirk. "You want to tell us what you remember?"_

_Nitis stopped. "Well… I remember walking on water and up trees, leaves, how to use chakra... water balloons and cats… rotation-" Ashton and Tadashi looked at each other while Nitis rambled on. "-shadow clones and bells."_

"_Shadow clones and bells? Where do bells come in to being a ninja?" Amaya asked, clearly confused._

"_There was something about a test. You had to take the bell away from someone to pass a test." He muttered. "I remember being really hungry." He said, looking at his temporary teammate._

_Ashton stopped. "That could be a good exercise. Instead of fighting, we could see who has more skills by the way they can keep their own bell and get their opponents." Ashton put his hand up to his chin. "I don't think we can get bells in such a short amount of time. We could just use some sort of loose cloth." He muttered._

That's how Nitis and Amaya ended up chasing after each other. They never went home, but instead had finished shopping for Nitis and went strait to this desolate area right outside the village.

Nitis turned around and spotted Amaya near by. "_Man… she's gonna get me if I don't hurry.' _He thought. He knew that he had to hide from her, but he couldn't think of any where in this land of white and black. His blue eyes darted around and found a large tree in a thickened area. '_I guess that'll work.' _He thought as he darted in the opposite direction before jumping up into a tree and using its thick branches to sneak to his intended hiding area.

"Look, Tadashi. Nitis has the right idea." Ashton said. Tadashi didn't reply. "…'Dashi… you're not even watching."

"It's t-too c-cold."

"Get over it and watch." Ashton demanded. He waited until Tadashi pulled his head out of his coat and had his eyes fixated on the two running around.

"Y'know, Ashton… We didn't tell anybody where we were going. Someone's probably out looking for us now." Tadashi said as he put most of his head back into his shirt. He left his eyes out to peer over the collar of his coat.

Ashton blinked a few times before the new information settled in his brain. "Damn it…"

"You're gonna be in trouble." Tadashi said in a singsong voice, smiling up at him with his eyes. "You're- Ow!" He had started to repeat his taunt, but his cousin had hit him in the head.

"Shut up. We can't do anything about it now except let them finish what they're doing." Ashton said. He was getting a little irritated by his cousin's attitude. Tadashi always got like this when the temperature dropped to this level.

Tadashi pulled his head out of his jacket. "Did you just see that?" He asked.

Ashton turned and looked around. "No."

"Nitis… he did some sort of jutsu. I saw it!"

Meanwhile, Amaya had noticed something change in the air. '_He's done something… did he set a trap?' _She wondered as she drew closer to where the blonde was hiding. She had seen him slip off into the dark, but was unsure where he had gone after that.

Something moved to her right. She turned and jumped as Nitis came at her. He had almost gotten her, too! '_If he would have had a weapon he definitely would have gotten me!' _She thought as she held on to the branch that had been above her head. She dropped down and landed a kick to his shoulder. Their eyes met. His blue ones and her red ones. He looked shocked for a moment before he disappeared.

"What?!" She turned to looked around and felt another presence near by. "Who's there?"

A kunai came flying out of nowhere and passed by her face, leaving only centimeters of space. It hit something nearby. "Ah! Ow…" Nitis staggered out into her view. The kunai was wedged into his shoulder.

"Nitis?" A new voice ran out. The sound of crunching snow became louder and louder before the bundled up form of Reno appeared in the darkness. "Damn it! I hit you again!"

* * *

Nitis glared up at the red haired young man as he felt his skin regrowing. He wasn't the only one either. Two sets of navy blue eyes and a pair of onyx colored eyes were also sending glares in his direction.

"What?" He asked, turning his head to meet each glare.

"You hit Nitis in the shoulder with a kunai! That's not the first time, Reno? What are you going to do when you let one fly and you kill him?" Tadashi nearly yelled.

"I don't know-"

"Reno. Maybe you should work on your physical abilities like aiming a kunai and not just throwing them in every direction." Ashton said as he unfolded his arms.

"Eh." He shrugged. "At least I found you guys before Kalari or that crazy Keru found you. They sent a few others out to search for you around… six? Maybe seven. Anyways, I was just letting you know, that's all."

* * *

There was another set of eyes glaring at the red haired teenager. Only these eyes were not physical, they were merely spiritual eyes.

"That idiot! He's sent me into the hospital again! He's gonna kill me before anyone else even gets the chance!" The rowdy blonde said as he glared at his physical image.

Haku laughed a bit while their new friend sat and smiled next to the blonde. He had just decided to stick around and wait to see if anything interesting happened. So far all they did was watch what was happening to the blonde's body.

"You know… You should try and talk to my father the next time he swings by here." He said, his green eyes continuing to watch the moving pictures. "He's a master when it comes to dealing with spiritual matters."

Naruto turned and glanced at the new guy. "Yeah right."

"I'm serious. He may be an old grouch, but he knows what he's talking about. He didn't die young because of how smart or stupid he was, he was murdered. Me and my sister were all killed by the same man who slaughtered a great deal of our clan members."

Naruto had turned back to the pictures. "You're not an Uchicha are you?" He muttered.

"Uchiha? No. I've never even heard of that clan before. I'm from the spirit wielder clan of the Uzumaki…"

Naruto had blocked out the man's words as he continued to watch his body. '_I should grab that girl's substitute bell before she takes mine…' _He thought.

* * *

Nitis grimaced as the hole in his shoulder finally came together. He moved the joints around to try and work out the soreness. He stood up and thanked the doctor.

"No problem. I don't get too many injuries this late at night- or maybe I should say morning?" She said with a smile.

"Nitis might get his own room here if Reno keeps things up like this." Tadashi muttered as he headed for the exit. Ashton had agreed.

"That's not very nice-"

"We don't want to hear it!" The cousins replied.

Nitis was walking next to his probationary partner when a sudden thought hit him. He looked down to see if the loose cloth was still tied to her waist. It was. She was too focused on the small argument ahead of her to notice that the blonde had reached down and taken it.

"Hey Ashton!" Nitis called out.

The three older teens stopped and turned to see what Nitis wanted. "What?" Ashton asked.

He held up the cloth. "I win, right?" He asked.

Amaya glanced at it before quickly looking down to her waist. Ashton had a slightly confused face put on while Reno had an expressionless one since he didn't know what was going on.

Tadashi, on the other hand, started laughing. "Hehe, yeah buddy, looks like you won. We never ended it." He bounced back to the two younger kids. He wrapped his arms around Nitis. "I'm freezing, kid. You're going to keep me warm until we get home. Ashton and Reno can take Amaya home for us."

"Wait! I don't want that crazy guy to know where I live!" Amaya said with a strait face, causing Tadashi to laugh.

"Hey girlie! That's not a very nice thing to say to a sempai!" Reno called back.

"So what?! You're not a very nice person so it should fit." She argued back as the three went off in another direction. Tadashi and Nitis had stopped and just let them leave.

"They sure are noisy." He yawned. "I'm cold… and tired. You might have to carry me back, Nitis." Tadashi said slowly as he pushed Nitis in the right direction of their house.

With a quick move, Nitis had managed to wiggle free and left a half asleep, half dazed Tadashi on the frozen ground. "Not a chance, Tadashi." He said with a small smirk.

Tadashi had gotten a sudden jolt from the cold snow. "Why you-" He jumped up and started chasing the blonde through the early morning air. "That's a mean thing to do to me!"

"You're heavy." Nitis said as he bent down to scoop up some snow in his bare hand. He launched it and it smacked the Chuunin right in the face. They continued like that until they managed to find their way home.

* * *

Nitis woke up in his room. He felt a little heavy. He glanced down to see that he was stil wearing the cloths he had bought the day before. Looking out the window, he knew he couldn't have been asleep for too long because it was still too dark to see outside. He unzipped the jacket and pulled off his pants. He found his usual sleeping attire laying on the top of the dresser he was using. After he managed to put them on, only after tripping on his pants, did he find his way back to his warm bed.

"Hey Nitis! Wake up."

'_Who's talking to me? Didn't I just fall asleep?' _He thought groggily as he barely managed to open his eyes to see a slightly familiar figure hovering over his face. After the blurriness faded away, he sat up quickly, clearly shocked.

"F-ferra! You can't do that! You're gonna give me a heart attack!" He said as he let his blankets fall into his lap. She smiled and hopped onto the bed.

"Sorry. But it's almost noon! You shouldn't sleep so much. Tadashi isn't awake yet, either. Were the two of you out late last night?" She asked.

Nitis stared at her for a moment as she stretched out on the empty side of his bed. "Well… we were training with Ashton and another girl named Amaya. I'm on my… um, I forgot what it's called. I have to do it before I can become a ninja here."

"You're in your probationary period! Why is Kalari making you be a ninja?! Shouldn't we be trying to help you with your memory?" She asked, sitting up.

Nitis shrugged. "Well, it makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, I remembered that I was a ninja while I was in the hospital-"

"Really?! Is that why you're more talkative?"

"Maybe." He said.

"Do you remember anything that would tell me that you were a ninja before?" She asked, leaning a little closer to look at his eyes. She loved looking at his blue eyes because they were such a bright color, one that she'd never seen before. She'd seen the dark blue and the almost silver blue, but never such a color as his.

"I can walk on trees and water. And I can make a shadow clone-"

"What?! Do one right now!" She insisted. She looked so excited.

Nitis shook his head and smiled. This girl was too easy to get excited. She was fun to be around, though. He stood up and made the hand sign that felt comfortable. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He said.

He felt a similar rush like the one from the night before. He looked over at his twin, who looked back.

"Wow… That's so cool. And he's solid, isn't he?" Ferra had gotten off the bed and was poking his clone, circling him.

"Why shouldn't I be?" The clone asked.

"I can only make regular clones, but those are just illusions…"

* * *

"Hey, look at that! I made a clone!" Naruto exclaimed as he became slightly more alert to the pictures in front of him.

"Looks like that little trip made your body remember a few things." The man said as he leaned up. He hadn't left yet.

Haku looked around. "You know… Life hasn't been around since she let you with me, and you haven't been able to reconnect with your body. Am I right in saying that?" Haku asked the young man.

"Yeah. My father did say your memory chord was taken. And… I'm trying to think of what that means for you…" He closed his eyes and thought. "It's been so long ago since he's even talked about these things to me." He muttered.

Naruto turned his head. "I don't know what any of that stuff with the chord thing means." He said.

"I think you need it to get back to your body…" The green eyed man muttered. "Yes. That's what it means."

Naruto got onto his hands and knees and crawled over and got right into the man's face. "Are you sure about this?" He asked suspiciously. "Your not going to try and pull something now, are you?"

The man tapped him on the head. "Don't be stupid. What would I gain? I'm dead."

"Maybe you might travel down and take Naruto's place." The man cocked his head.

"Naruto? Who's Naruto?"

"I'm Naruto!" Naruto said. "Naruto Uzumaki."

The man shook his head. "There's no way. Naruto Uzumaki was a family name passed down in our clan and clearly, you're not from our clan."

"Huh? Why is that?" Haku asked.

"Because of that hair and those eyes. There has never been a blonde haired or blue eyed villager before in the village. Light brown and green was probably the closest thing to you. How you became an Uzumaki I can't be too sure."

"I'll tell you how." A familiar rough voice said from behind the three. Naruto turned to look at the old man and his daughter standing next to each other.

"Father?"

"That little Tarsa of mine. She always wanted to leave the village. She might have met some blonde guy." He said.

"Or Naruto might have had a son and named it after himself." Narta said. "I wouldn't doubt him to do something like that.

Naruto stared at these people. "Wait a minute… who are all of you?"

"Haru Uzumaki." The man who had been watching Naruto's body with them said.

"Narta Uzumaki." The young woman said standing next to her brother.

"Keru Uzumaki." Grunted the old man.

"And I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said.

"I guess it isn't a big surprise to find relatives up here, Naruto. I mean, you've had to have some at one point or you wouldn't be here." Haku said.

"I guess that's true."

"Who were your parents, boy?" Keru asked.

Naruto felt hurt all of a sudden. "I don't have parents. I've never had any." He said slowly. "If I have parents then they're probably dead." He said.

"Maybe, but if we, your distance relatives, were drawn to you, then why haven't your parents?" Narta asked.

Naruto shrugged. "Who knows."

"Well whether you're a relative of ours or not is besides the point. You need to get back into your body and we're going to help because it's what we do." Haru said.

"No. If he even has a chance of getting back to his body, all we can to is instruct him. Helping him with the actual process is impossible." Keru said.

Naruto was nodded, but like always didn't understand what was being spoken about.

Keru grabbed the boy by his arm and pulled him up. "there is a way for me to find out how to tell if you really are a relative of ours or not. This…" He made a hand sign with his left hand, "should tell us whether you are a true Uzumaki or not." He pushed his index finger to Naruto's temple.

* * *

"Let's play a trick on the others." Ferra said with a grin.

"A trick… those are bad." His clone nodded.

"No no no. Tricks and pranks are only bad when you hurt someone or do something destructive. Let me tell you what I want you and your clone to do."

* * *

Nitis and Ferra walked into the living room where Lucas and Hiro were busy concentrating on their video game. Nitis took a seat next to Hiro while Ferra took one next to Lucas.

"Ferra…" Lucas muttered.

"Hm?" She turned her head to look at him.

His violet eyes didn't dare move off the screen. "This couch is only made for three people… it feels like five-"

Nitis and Hiro both looked away from the screen when Lucas let out a choked yelp. Hiro didn't seemed too surprised, but Nitis had a look of horror on his face. Ferra had Lucas in a tight head lock because his face was already turning dark purple.

"Calling me fat, moss head?" Ferra's face has a wicked grin as her eyes shown with malice. "I do believe that this is what you're insinuating." He tried to say something. "Are you saying I'm wrong?" He made another noise.

Hiro turned back to the game while lightly plucking the other controller out of Lucas's hands. "Here. Play with me while she kills him."

Nitis took the controller, but continued to watch the fight between the two team mates. His thumbs flew over the buttons. Being locked away for that short amount of time gave him the time to learn how to play the game better.

"Hey Hiro… why did Lucas say that Ferra is fat?"

Hiro made a slightly unhappy face because his character had just taken a bad hit. "He- ah, damn it… He didn't actually call her fat. He wanted to let her know that she was in his space. To close, in his arm's way… I don't know but it was probably something like that."

"Oh." Nitis watched as Lucas's fingers twitched with what little life he had left in him. "I thought it was a little weird since she's not fat at all."

Ferra let her grip off of Lucas's neck and he crumpled to the floor. "That's so nice!" She leaned past Hiro, causing him to drop his controller and have his player be shot down by Nitis's character. She wrapped her arms around his neck, something he had gotten used to since she would do it every time she'd come to visit him in the hospital.

Lucas propped himself up on his elbows. "You suck up." He said to Nitis.

"What?! She's not. Fat people are big and wide… like this, right?" He made a large circle with his outstretched arms. "You could fit three of her in here." He wiggled out of her grasp.

Lucas and Hiro both sweat dropped. "I wasn't being- Never mind." Lucas shook his head as he pulled himself back onto the couch. Now it was Nitis, Hiro, and Lucas sitting on it while Ferra stayed on the back side, lying behind them but still able to watch the game.

"You want the controller back?" Nitis asked, handing it across Hiro and towards Lucas.

"Yeah, thanks." He said, taking it.

"Hey Nitis… how are you so good at playing these games?" Hiro asked.

The blonde shrugged. "I guess I'm lucky. I played it before I went to the hospital and all… but other than that if I've ever played I don't remember."

"That's crazy. You're too good." Lucas said.

"AHHH! NITIS! WHAT THE HELL!" Tadashi's piercing scream could be heard from down the hall.

Lucas and Hiro both stopped playing and looked over at the blonde. "Nitis? Hey Tadashi! Go get some glasses! Nitis is in here with us!"

Kanda, who had been making lunch for everyone in the household, and Keru, who had been conversing about who knows what, both stuck their heads out from the kitchen. They both looked at the blonde, then at the raging brunette. He was completely soaked, water droplets dripping from his hair and more off of his cloths.

"What happened to you?" Lucas asked.

He was breathing heavily. He flung his arm out and pointed at the blonde. "He threw water on me! I jumped up and then he pulled my covers over my head and ran out of the room!"

Everyone turned and looked at each other with quizzical expressions. "Man… you've lost it." Hiro said.

"He did!"

"Maybe you were just dreaming?" Lucas asked.

"No!"

If anyone had taken the time to look at Ferra's face, they would have seen a giant smile on it. But because her nose and everything down was hidden by Nitis's leg and part of his stomach, they couldn't.

"Tadashi… I came out with Ferra. I think you might have gotten a little sick from staying out last night." Nitis said.

Tadashi let his arm fall and narrowed his eyes. "I know you did that somehow. OH!" He brought his hand back up, index finger loaded and already out again. "It was a shadow clone! It was, wasn't it!" He yelled smugly.

Nitis blinked, keeping a strait face. Before Ferra lost it, however, someone crashed through the back door. "Hello!!!! Where's mom? Dad! There you are!"

Arms wrapped around Keru's arms and chest. The man looked very annoyed. "Get off me you misfit!" He had to wrestle the wild red head off. "Didn't I tell you never to come near me and my house again!?"

Reno pouted. "Why are you so mean to me?! Mama! Daddy's being mean again!" He cried and slipped under the Jonin and popped up next to Kanda.

Nitis cocked his head. "Does he do this every time he comes in?" He asked Tadashi, who had forgotten about Nitis's clone that had indeed dumped water on him earlier. For some reason, he could remember doing it even though it was only his clone.

"Yeah. You'll get used to it one of these days." He said as he shook his hair.

"Oh… Hiroshi dear… could you take care of all that water for me?" Kanda asked as she disappeared back into the kitchen, followed by her husband and her apparent adopted child.

Hiro lifted his hand and Nitis watched as all the water on Tadashi and on the floor collected into a large ball floating about an inch from the floor. "What is that?!" Nitis wondered aloud.

"That… is Hiro's kekkei genkai. You know about those, right?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah… It's a blood trait, right? Keru said something about it when I first got here."

Hiro stood up, grabbed the ball of water, and walked it to the bathroom. "Hiro has the ability to control water without making hand signs or using any chakra. I think he's psychic. You saw how it floated off the ground-"

"Ferra. How many times do I have to tell you this? It's not just floating in the air. There're small water particles holding it up. It does take chakra, just not enough to make a dent in my supply. Look… the floor's still wet here." Hiro said as he rubbed his foot over the area that the water orb had been hovering above.

Nitis looked a little confused. Something about this situation of not quite grasping something felt familiar. A small smile broke out over his face as he remembered a single word but couldn't find a meaning for it… '_Catra.'_

* * *

**Awakening- 27 percent**

* * *

**Sorry it took such a long time. I've been trying to get my stupid math, english, and US gov grades up (which I did for the most part, yay!) I'm hoping to get the next one up before that horrible time of studing for finals comes. I already have a final project T.T It's in astronomy so I think I'll be ok. **

**Was it a little shocking to meet a few of Naruto's relatives? You'd know who they are if you paid careful attention in the first chapter of Love me when I'm gone. You'd get a little more information about them if you reread the rewrite, His undetermined path.**

**Speaking of HUP, I've basically got the next chapter finished. I just have to put one more scene with Haru in it before I post it. I'll probably have it up late Sunday night but I'm not making any promises. I want to put more chapters out for it because I'd like to have it finished before I finish this story. Preferable before I graduate. Hopfully I get accepted to IUPUI and not have to have to worry too much. But once again... I don't want to promise anything becasue things happen.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I liked doing the ending becuase it easy to have anything happen while they're sitting on the couch, playing video games, whether it be something silly, or serious/ importaint. I like to make obscure connections in my stories, so keep an eye out. Now if you didn't read this AN... then XP You just missed out on a number of clues! **

**Blackblaze**


	9. The sled team

**The only move is forward**

**Escort Mission Arc**

**_The sled team_**

_Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the series of Naruto. I do, however, own my original characters, ideas, and this plot._

* * *

Amaya stared blankly out at the frozen white land with a similar irritated expression to that of her Probationary Chuunin, Ashton. Her black hair was being controlled and was slashing at her dark, watering eyes. Ashton was just ignoring his wild hair, his anger quickly rising.

She didn't dare take another step forward. The snow was too deep, and she was cold. She tilted her head and looked back at the blonde and brunette. She had a feeling that the brunette was about to say something that would just add fuel to the fire… which was Ashton's anger.

"C-cold… S-so cold…" Tadashi chattered from under his many layers. He made sure to cover every part of skin except for a small hole for his eyes. He looked like a giant snowman with his giant white coat. Amaya had insisted on everyone wearing some sort of white.

Ashton reeled around. "Shut. Up!"

"You got us lost-" Tadashi stated.

"No I didn't! This snow is just so outrageous that we can't maneuver in it very well. It's almost up to our knees." Ashton managed to grind out.

"Yeah, but you're the one who took this mission. You should have paid attention to the weather-" Ashton's fingers wrapped around his cousin's neck and he made sure to squeeze every time Tadashi tried to move.

"I chose this mission because it was higher than any of the others that we've been offered and this is the last one that Amaya will be involved in with us. She needs to experience a traveling mission that takes a day or two before I'll let her get her Genin license."

To avoid being apart of his own Probationary Chuunin's murder, Nitis walked up next to Amaya.

"This could take twice as long with all this snow." She muttered. "I hate it when something gets in my way."

Nitis pulled his scarf up to the bridge of his nose. "You want to leave us that badly?" He asked with a faint smile.

"Of course not, but I need to get stronger-"

'_Why does that sound so familiar?' _He thought.

"-so that I can be able to leave the village and find my sister. She left a while ago and never returned. I'm worried about her."

"She left?"

"Yeah. She was supposed to come back, though. All I know is that Miss Kalari gave her permission to go and she did. I don't even know where she went."

Nitis could feel her mood slip into a sadden one. "Oh… Sorry. I shouldn't-"

"It's fine. I'm doing ok and everything; I just want to find her is all."

"I see- Uh!" Something tugged on Nitis's neck. He tried to see what it was, but his scarf was covering his eyes. "Lemme go!" He yelled. He could hear Amaya throwing a fit as well.

"Quite, kids! We've got to find some shelter until this blizzard stops." Tadashi said. His arms were the ones wrapped around the two younger kids. "I can see a small forest of pine trees! Let's go!"

Ashton walked behind as his cousin forced his way through the snow. '_I bet there's an easier way to get through this mess. I wonder if Nitis can walk on this as well.' _He wondered.

Even though the pine forest looked to be close, it took them almost an hour to get there. In that time, the wind had only picked up its pace. The four made their way until most of the wind was blocked by the trees. "This is good enough, you guys." Tadashi muttered.

"Yeah. Nitis, you come with me and we'll get some things to get a fire started." Ashton said as he put his pack down.

"Okay Sempai." Nitis did the same, and walked over to him.

Tadashi kicked at a spot until there was nothing more that dirt. This was where they'd make the fire. Luckily, the snow was very thin in this part of the forest. "Jeez. How does he expect us to get this started? There aren't any flint rocks nearby and I don't know any fire jutsu." He muttered.

Amaya cleared a spot on the ground and sat down. "There's no reason to worry about that. I know some fire jutsu so getting a fire started is no big deal."

Tadashi glanced over at her. "You know, you're pretty talented for being on probation. You're calculating skills are pretty good, you know a handful of jutsu already. Why is that?"

She shrugged. "I learned from watching my sister. She was really talented and just picked up on things. I wanted to be like her so I trained really hard, but… I'm not a natural like her."

"Hmm… She's the one that is missing right now, correct?" Tadashi asked.

Amaya stared at her foot. "Yeah. I'm not sure, but I think she went back to the village she was born in. Maybe to visit my brother."

"Brother? I didn't know you had a brother-"

"He's dead. He died before I was born. That's why my parents left whatever village they originally came from. They ran away from the memories of him."

Tadashi felt uncomfortable. Depressing talk always made his stomach twist.

"Don't think that having a dead brother bothers me." This comment felt cold. "I never met him, so I never really lost him. You can't miss something that you've never had, right?" She said lazily.

Tadashi pulled his scarf down past his mouth. "That's kinda mean of you, Sweetie." She glared at the nickname that he had given her. There were a few others, and occasionally Ashton would say one as well. "I mean… family is family, dead or alive."

"Well… he's dead. I can't get to know him. What do you propose I do? Dig him up and ask him how his day has been?" She asked sarcastically.

Tadashi quickly pulled his scarf over his eyes. "You _are_ mean… you're not just acting, are you?!" His muted voice somehow managed to get out of its clothed imprisonment.

"You jerk-!"

"Amaya! Leave that idiot alone." Ashton said sternly.

She turned around and stared at the two who had snuck up behind her. "Sorry." She mumbled.

"It's ok. Just ignore him next time…" Ashton turned his head in such a way that it creeped the small blonde out. "You can't talk sense to an idiot." His voice was lower than usual.

Tadashi squirmed and made sure to keep his eyes covered. "Don't do that, Ashton! I hate it-"

"Then don't do anything to make me do it."

Nitis shivered. He wasn't sure what Ashton wanted him to do, so he had stayed back and stayed quite. It seemed, now, that it was the right thing to do.

By the time the storm had passed, night had fallen. The four packed up their temporary camp and continued to move towards their destination.

* * *

"Finally! I thought we were goners." Tadashi said as he walked into the specified building on the mission descrition. 

Nitis and Amaya were lagging behind the two older teens. Ashton noticed that they were still halfway down the street. "Come on you two! You won't get anything to eat if you stay at that pace-" Two white blurs flew past him and into the warmth.

"Wow… I though I'd never feel warmth again!" Nitis said as he peeled off his frost covered coat.

"Why… why are you guys taking your cloths off?" He asked as he closed the door.

"I'm not going to let these frozen things keep me away from a heat source." Nitis said stubbornly.

"Yeah. Forget this. I'm moving somewhere where it's warm all the time." Amaya sighed as she pulled the scarf from around her neck. She shivered.

"Hey! What are you two babbling about? It's not even that cold out." He was sent three separate glares. "Ok, maybe it's a little cold out. But you knew that you'd have to experience any and every weather condition. This is what you signed up for-"

"Wrong." Amaya said. "Being a ninja is the only way to find my sister. Plus I have to get some money saved up for when I leave. And isn't the only reason Nitis was pulled into this was because it's kind of like his rent payment for staying in the village?"

Ashton didn't reply. He knew it was the truth. "So you're telling me that neither of you like being a ninja?" He asked.

"I like being able to defend myself and protect others, but the willingness to do it for silly things like this is low, yes. I'll do it with everything I can, though… so don't give me that weird look." She said when Ashton had made a shocked face.

He turned to Nitis. "What about you?"

Nitis looked up after he peeled off his top layer of pants. "Well, I'm a little excited. But I don't know if I really like it because I don't remember much. I suppose I could have liked it before I lost my memory." He said.

"Ah… I see." Ashton's eye twitched.

"I love it! You get to travel and see new things." He exclaimed.

"I don't believe I asked you. Now, we have to find Miromu Nishima. He's the one who called us for this escort mission." Ashton said as he looked around. "I'll be right back."

Tadashi shook the melted snow out of his hair. "Much better." He sighed. "I'd much rather be doing this in the spring."

""Yeah."" The two others replied.

"Hey guys. Pick up your stuff. I got two rooms. Nishima said to rest and warm up before we leave tomorrow."

"Good. I don't like sleeping in the snow." Nitis muttered.

"Me neither." Both blue and black eyes glanced over at the brunette. "He is truly drawn to heat." Amaya muttered as she remembered waking up with the brunette lying right between her and Nitis. Of course they all had to sleep near each other, but to wake up with a giant heat thief right in your face was something neither of them wanted to think about.

"Hey! I wasn't doing anything wrong-" Tadashi had started to reply.

The two had turned their heads to the oldest in the group. "He's in your room, right?"

He nodded as he handed Nitis the key. "Yes."

The two sighed with relief and then walked to their room where they continued to peel off the rest of their layers. All they had left on were their thermals. "I'm glad that man said we could rest." Nitis said as he sat on his bed. "Is the man paying for this, or did Ashton?"

"Oh, you don't know. All ninja from Abyss are allowed to stay at any regular hotel for free. We get a discount on resorts, but there aren't many of them since there are so few hot springs."

"Oh. Well that's nice." Nitis said.

She lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. "Yeah. I'm going to take a nap." She said and leaned back up.

That sounded like a good idea to him as well. He crawled under his blankets and quickly drifted off to sleep.

A few minutes later someone knocked lightly on the door before opening it. "Hello?" the young man muttered. He spotted a lump in each bed. "Oops…" He muttered before closing the door.

The young man turned around and headed for the next room. As he was about to knock, it opened and Ashton walked out. "I'll go talk to our client- whoa. Sorry." He said as he backed up a bit to avoid colliding with the young man.

"It's fine. I was sent here to see if you wanted some towels for a shower." He said.

Ashton held out his arm. "Sure, thanks. I'll take another one for my roommate."

The blonde smiled. "You're here with those two younger kids, right?" Ashton nodded. "I went to their room and the two of them were asleep. When they wake up you can tell them that if they want to take a shower, just ask me."

As he walked away, Ashton closed his eyes. '_He sure looks familiar.'_

* * *

The group of five stood outside their lodgings from the night before. "It'll take three days to get there due to the snow. Don't overuse any items because we'll only pass one town on the path I've chosen." Ashton said. 

Amaya studied the map in her sempai's hands. She pointed to a thicker line. "This way's much faster, Sempai. Why aren't we going down the Seshima Path? There's three more heavy towns down that route and there are even a few small villages if we absolutely need to stop. It'd only take a day and a half then."

"I know, but that way has more cliffs and plus yesterday Forgotten Falls flooded and caused a large amount of damage to many of the towns and routes in that direction. The river is practically impassable at this time."

Tadashi sighed. "We contacted Aunt Kalari last night and she told us that due to the rapid waters coming from the west, it would be risky to take that way. She's even dispatched a large number of squads to help stabilize the situation and assist those who were affected." He glanced up at the sky. "Looks clear for most of the day, and since the Shumo Path is completely flat, we're taking dogs."

"Dogs?" Nitis tilted his head. "What does that mean?"

Amaya turned and smiled. "It means we're taking sleigh dogs and traveling that way. I've only steered one a couple of times."

"Not only that, these are ninja hounds trained for this purpose. Mom's got them ready to be summoned. She sent me the scroll by bird this morning. Two teams of eight. I'll be with Nishima and the supplies while Tadashi will handle the two of you. Are we clear?"

Ashton asked.

"Yes!" The two younger ones answered.

Tadashi smirked. "Good. Then let us start, shall we?" He pulled out four scrolls and tore the first two open with his teeth. Somehow, he managed to bite his thumbs and slide them across the length of paper while opening the next two and doing the same. Nitis managed to follow many of his movements at the beginning. All the time he has spent with him, he has mainly known him for being a mildly calm person with a sappy attitude that he only shows to his family, close friends, and Amaya. He's only seen it because of the two months he's lived with him. Although he's not seen much, he knew that the brunette was skilled and quite smart.

Before his very eyes, two medium length sleds appeared along with two wooden crates and eighteen multicolored dogs. Flashes of white, gray, brown, red, blonde, ginger and black appeared in a mass of fur.

Nitis looked at all the different colored dogs. There were some that looked a little thicker than others, while some had two different colored eyes. Most of them had triangular shaped ears and larger than average sized tails that looked as though they could sweep an entire pathway with only two waves. There were two that caught his attention and stood above the others. One was as pure as the snow with glistening silver blue eyes. The other was as black as coal and had deep, intimidating emerald eyes. They were much thinner than the others, but what they lacked in bulk they made up for with height and speed.

The four placed the harnesses on the dogs. "Hey… Aunt Kalari sent two too many." Tadashi said as he stared at the two out of place dogs. They stayed back a ways, their tails hanging loosely behind while the other sixteen harnessed dogs tails' were moving wildly back and forth.

Ashton nodded. "Yeah. They don't look like any of our runners. They don't have our village symbol either." Besides the two loners, the others all has bright orange collars with a metal tag with their village symbol engraved onto each and everyone of them.

The white one slowly made way towards the blonde. Her cool white nose sniffed at his bare hand before licking it once. She let out a deep, comforting bark before turning and running into the village.

The black one, however, simply stayed put. He stared at the group before him.

"Should we go after that one?" Tadashi asked.

"No. The roster only calls for sixteen. For all we know those two may have just shown up when the others were barking." Ashton replied.

"Those two looked weird, didn't they?" Amaya asked.

"Wolves." Nitis muttered.

"What was that?" She asked her friend.

"I think they're wolves." He said, a little louder this time.

"Really? I've never seen one before. They're not native to this country, let alone any surrounding areas." Ashton replied. "Well, let that one be. If they're ours, then they'll return home."

Amaya helped Nitis with getting the dogs put onto the gangline. "It looks like we have two lead dogs in this team." Amaya said as she read off the paper. "Ashton Sempai only has one lead and a single team dog." She muttered.

Tadashi looked over and smirked. "That's because they were trained differently, so different teams work well with different arrangements." He snapped one of the clips onto the tuglines.

"Hey Nitis, Sitch and Mika, it looks like, are the two lead. Call them and get them ready. I'll pack the rest of the supplies." She said while handing him the paper.

"Ok." He looked down and noticed that Mika would be on the right, while Sitch was on the left. He assumed they would have to learn their names incase they had to call out to one individually. "Mika, come." He said in a kind voice.

The blonde dog had small strips of white and black markings along her back and down her haunches and on part of her forehead. Her eyes were two different colors. One was blue and the other was an unusual orange. She wagged her tail as he connected her harness to the tugline. He rubbed her head and then called Sitch.

Sitch was s little taller, but was thinner than most of the males. His bright blue eyes looked well with his brown and red coat. He had the markings of a husky, and his legs and underbelly were a light tan mixed with white. "'Kay. Good dog." He rubbed Sitch's head as well before calling out and reporting that Team 2 was set.

Tadashi had just finished attaching Gikon, Team 1's lead dog, to the front. He was strong looking as well, what with his traditional black and white markings and his baby blue eyes.

"So are we ready? Tadashi asked.

"Nishima's all settled in. Are you, Amaya?" Ashton called over to the girl who was now sitting in what he just assumed was for cargo only.

"Yes!" She replied after she finished wrapping her body up and then covering it with a thin layer of plastic so that only her head was visible, but she still had the mobility to get her arms out incase of an attack.

Tadashi patted Nitis on the shoulder. "Alright buddy, since you know nothing of this, You'll be up at the handles with me. You'll catch some of it while I'm steering. You may have to steer at some point so I'll help you out, okay?"

"S-sure?" He questioned.

Tadashi walked him to the back and put him right in front, while the Chuunin stayed behind and started to pull a strap around his back. After latching it to the other part of the handle bar, he said, "that's just incase we hit a ruff spot and it prevents us from falling to our deaths."

The blonde swallowed a small bit of saliva as he put on his gloves that Tadashi had handed to him. He held on tight. "Are you leading?" He called over to Ashton.

"Well…" Ashton had to think for a moment. Usually there was only one sled and he wasn't transporting a person, so it was new for him. He thought of a frontal attack, giving them a few extra moments before Tadashi caught up. While in the rear, they may be silently attacked and Tadashi wouldn't even know.

"I'll take the front!" He called.

"Right." Tadashi nodded. He bent his head down to whisper into Nitis's ear. "Be ready, okay?" The blonde nodded.

Finally Ashton made some sort of unusual movement with his foot. "Hike up!" He yelled. Nitis watched as all eight dogs darted forward. It took a short moment before they started to gain momentum. After they started to pull ahead and passed the one hundred yard mark, Tadashi muttered "get ready." The dogs on their own team were getting antsy and some had jumped up and tried to pull forward at Ashton's command.

Nitis felt Tadashi's leg move around and stepped on something. "Alright. Hike!" He yelled. Nitis's head smacked against Tadashi's chest with a heavy amount of force. Not expecting it, he almost lost his footing. A larger hand grabbed his arm and directed his hand back to where it belonged. "Careful." Tadashi said.

He poked his blonde head around Tadashi's arm and looked back at the black figure standing as still as a statue. He waited for it to chase after them, but instead he turned and walked back into the little town, his tail flicking back and forth.

* * *

In the dark, two figures stood out in the freezing cold, their breath rising before their faces. "You remember me, I take it." 

"I do." The larger of the two said. "It's taken a few months."

"Do you know why you can remember already while he-"

"No. Something I can't control is happening."

"You're weaker than before. Are you able to correct that?"

"Of course. I have a job to do."

"I see… And I gotten word-… Do you remember the topic that woman never told you about… but you found out anyways?"

The larger figure nodded. "I do."

"There is still one reliable source I have from there, and I've learned that there's movement. That man is up to something."

The larger figure smirked. "Good."

"You know, as much as I love a fight… I've seen him. He's dangerous. That woman has protected you from him, so you can't dick around and get caught."

"… I have a plan that, at this time, does not involve him. If he finds any of them, only then will I change the course of my mission ever so slightly."

"You're an idiot. Even I wouldn't tangle with the likes of that man. Be on your guard, because I won't be here to help you."

"I got it. Now get out of here. I'm still a little weak, so you must give me some time to recuperate and get my strength back. That move almost killed me."

"Unfortunate." The smaller mocked.

The larger hit the smaller on the head. "Watch it, you."

* * *

**A/N: I am very... truly sorry that it has taken so long to get this arc started. I am appalled at myself for not once trying to get this up during my two and a half week break. Nothing I did coul modivate me, and I even forced myself, but that paragraph was scrapped. I was too caught up in caring for my cat, that I later had to put to sleep. I wasn't well throughout the entire month of December due to my finals and sending stuff in for collage and for my graduation later this year. Hopefully, after I get into collage (as in... my acceptance letter) I'll be more for finishing the rewrite and continuing with this. As for my other stories, I have no ideas for many of them so I think a few will be taken down. I feel that if you've lost passion for a story and it's early on, then just delete it.**

**Now that I'm back in school for my final semester, I'll have more time to write becuase my fifth period is when I'm working as a library aide, so I have 90 minutes to write because it's the last class of the day. That will get the story moving along a bit faster. **

**I know this is a lengthy AN, but if you've managed to stay with me for this long, then I will tell you two things. 1: I will be updating His undetermined path next. When... hopefully in the next week or two (depending on my schedule... I hate being an adult T.T) And 2: I have written a small section... two to three pages worth on word, in a much later chapter. It deals with Sasuke finally finding out about some of the things happening within his old village and... Naruto. I'm giving away a big part, so if you're interested then go to my profile and visit my livejournal. I'm really excited for that section. Aslo, if you have a small idea for this arc as for what could happen... please let me know. I have two things and this arc is ment to be short, but an idea would be helpful, even if I don't use it. PM or review would be just fine.**

**Thanks alot and hope this chapter proved that I was still alive and have yet to give up on Tomif. **

**Blackblaze**


	10. The storm begins

**The only move is forward**

**Escort Mission Arc**

_**The storm begins**_

_Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the series of Naruto. I do, however, own my original characters, ideas, and this plot._

* * *

Nitis squirmed as he stood at the back of the fast moving sled that he was now driving. Halfway through the day Amaya had traded with Tadashi and she had taken control of the sled. At the time, he had felt like he hadn't seen enough, so he asked to stay up at the front with Amaya. This put him behind her since he was taller than her, even if it was by a mere inch.

__

'I'm an idiot…

' He thought to himself as he tried to move his toes, something he had been unable to do for the past three hours. _'Yeah… stay up at the back and learn more. I can't feel my face… I can't feel my arms or legs… This must be what it feels like to die slowly.' _He thought, completely irritated at his current position.

About thirty minutes ago, and thirty minutes before night fall, Amaya had traded Tadashi positions again, but this time Tadashi had chosen to be the passenger. He had told Nitis that he'd help him, but he wanted to see how much he could do on his own. This had ended up putting him back in the front of the two people steering, and in charge. And this is where he was now, driving a sled that was being pulled by dogs, in the middle of a frozen, strait stretch of land. _'This freakin' sucks!'_

He spotted a ton of snow flying through the air and tried to remember what to do. He knew that Ashton had just started to stop. "W-whoa!" He yelled out, hopping it was the correct term.

Tadashi nodded, as if Nitis could see him, and stepped on the brake. Tadashi's team had completely stopped now, but Nitis could see as they got closer, that their team was going to fly by. "I figured they'd do this." He muttered. "Get ready, I'm going to release the snow hooks!" He called up to Amaya. She had been dozing and jumped slightly at his yell.

Tadashi threw the hooks out behind the sled. Nitis watched carefully as they dug deeper into the ground. He hadn't prepared for the sudden jolt of the hooks catching onto something and so he lost his grip and slid out of his safety belt. Something caught his arm but it was released the moment he hit the ground and left behind. He hit the snow hard and rolled for a bit until the friction of his body and the snow stopped him.

He lifted his head and tried to take a breath, but had to spit out the mouthful of snow that he had almost choked on first. He pushed himself up a bit as he heard footsteps running towards him. Soon enough, he felt someone lightly grab his arm to help him up.

"You ate the ground pretty hard, didn't you." Ashton said as he helped him to his feet. He patted his back, but Nitis could see why.

Nitis looked up and noticed that Amaya had flown out from her spot and barely managed to get out from under the excited dogs' feet. Tadashi had taken control when he watched Nitis fall and slip underneath his legs. Tadashi jumped off and helped Amaya up, dusting some of the snow off her back for her. _'That's what Ashton must have been doing to me… getting the snow off.' _He thought.

After the two Genin were checked to see if anything had been broken, they grouped in a mass near Ashton's sled. Tadashi looked down at Nitis. "I tried to grab you, but the minute you hit the ground I knew you would have been hurt much more if I held onto your arm. I didn't want to break it. And anyways, I had to try and keep the sled from running over Amaya."

"You couldn't have avoided it, either." Ashton said. "You went over a log under the snow and your snow hooks caught it. As long as nobody was hurt than it's fine." He finished.

Nitis and Amaya were both shaken up from their experience, but both agreed to help lead the dogs and the sleds over to the lightly forested area while Tadashi and Ashton went to look for firewood. Nitis also knew that they were looking for any signs of problems. That's what Ashton said the first time they went out to get some wood, anyways. He had told him that they use that time to check for any hiding enemies.

He glanced over at Amaya, who was releasing the dogs from their harnesses, as he opened the sealed container. Ashton had told him to feed the dogs, but he didn't know how now that he looked at a large set of scrolls. "Amaya, what am I supposed to do with these?" He asked, holding up a tan colored scroll.

She walked over to him and took it out of his hand. "This is a chakra activated scroll, you just put a little chakra into it and what was sealed will be released." She handed it back and he cocked his head, looking at it.

Remembering what the two Chuunin told him earlier during his short training before the mission, he clasped his hands together. _"You have to have circulation in the Chakra Network. In most cases, people put their hands together…" _He closed his eyes in concentration as he held the scroll between his two index fingers and thumbs. He felt a tingling sensation in his hands and looked down at the scroll that was now slightly smoking.

"Amaya!"

She turned and shouted, "you have to toss it, but not too far. Once you release the flow of chakra it'll open on its own."

He tossed it about three feet away and just as she said, the scroll rolled open and in a mere moment there was a large, dark green box. He opened it and found slabs of raw meat and a few lumpy bags. He pulled one of the bags up and opened it. It was dry dog food. _'How do I feed them? There aren't any bowls.' _He thought. "Hey Amaya… what now?" He asked.

She walked over and looked around. "No bowls?" She asked.

"I thought it was strange, too."

She looked around, one hand placed on her hip and the other hanging limply by her side. It made her look very girlish with that posture, which was unusual for the tomboy. She had reminded him of a female Lucas, what with her attitude and her fowl mouth. That single girlish trait must have come from her older sister.

It was another twenty minutes before Ashton and Tadashi returned with the fire wood. By then, Nitis, Amaya, and Miromu Nishima had all dug out a place in the thin layer of snow for the fire and for them to sit.

As Ashton dropped the fire wood in the marked place, Tadashi stopped when he felt the number of eyes staring at his back increase. He turned his head and looked over at the sled dogs, which all had sad looks in their eyes. They all got up and circled him, whining slightly. "What's the matter with you guys? You act like you haven't been fed yet." He looked over to the sled and noticed the bag and the box. "You… _haven't _been fed? Oi Nitis! Amaya! Didn't Ashton tell you two to get the dogs fed?"

"We don't know how." They called back, both their voices carried the flat tone of irritation for they had both tried to come up with a way to feed the antsy creatures, but they failed.

Tadashi stepped back a little, slightly frightened at the two's aura filled with irritation. "S-sorry… but I didn't think it would be too hard. Just dump it out on the snow, and each dog gets two thin cuts of the raw meat."

Nitis started to speak. "Just…"

"Dump it…" Amaya cut it.

"Out and onto the ground?" The two finished in a mutter. They groaned and threw their heads back.

XxXxXxX

Nitis woke up to the sound of gusting wind and the pressure it was creating on the top of the mass sleeping bag that four of the five were sleeping in. He felt something move slightly next to him. Opening his eyes only ending is seeing more black. The order they had to lay in was as followed; Amaya on the end, himself, Tadashi (an agument had erupted about where he would be sleeping) or Ashton, depending which of the two were guard at the time, and then the client. Nitis had long since forgotten the man's name, so he just called him 'Sir.'

But… he felt as though something had changed in their sleeping arrangements. Deciding that the only way he would find out was to stick his head out into the cold air, he pushed the military blanket off of him and, after searching for a moment, unzipped the bag.

"What are you doing up?" Ashton's voice called from his place by the small fire. He was sitting on the ground, completely wrapped up except for his eyes. The dark blue orbs were squinted to where it seemed as though he was trying to look at the sun.

"Nothing. Just wondering what time it is."

Ashton looked through the trees into the darkness. "Just a little past midnight. You guys have been asleep for around five hours."

Before he could respond, a large gust of wind hit him in the face, causing his whole body to shiver. He felt someone shift as they moved their arms. "I think Tadashi got between me and Amaya again." He muttered. "I take it we're just going to let him do that, hmm?"

Ashton's hidden face gave away no emotion. He was pulling something out of his pocket. "A southeasterly wind? That was a pretty powerful gust, too." He muttered.

"Southern winds means a storm's coming, right?" Nitis asked.

Ashton looked at him. "Where'd you hear that from?"

"I asked Amaya to tell me about weather patterns while we were at the hotel."

"Hmm. It's a good thing to know, there's no doubt about that. But wind just means a front is coming. We've been getting a lot of storms recently, and it makes me wonder whether or not the jet stream is over us. If so, then any sort of southern wind of this level would mean another storm, and if it's being carried by the jet stream, the eastern wind, that could be trouble." _'Maybe we shouldn't take a chance of waiting for daylight.' _He thought for a moment. "Hey Nitis, get Amaya up. She seems to be something of a weather expert. I would like to avoid a storm run-in at all costs."

"Right." He said and he went back under the blankets. It was like a maze of total darkness, and was irritating him. "Amaya. Wake up." He said, shaking the thinner form that was now one person away from him.

She moaned. "What? Hey-! Who's grabbing me?!" She almost yelled. There was a large amount of movement under the military blanket as Amaya struggled to get out of her captor's grasp. Once everyone was exposed to the freezing cold and awake, they could all see why Amaya had been uncomfortable and mad.

Before he was pried off by Amaya and Nitis, Tadashi had been lying as close as possible to the girl with his arms wrapped around her stomach. "You're a pervert!" Nitis yelled after finally getting Tadashi off of the girl so that she could stand up and step forcefully on the brunette's stomach for punishment.

"What'd you think you were doing?!" She yelled at him.

He pouted. "Sorry! I don't know that I'm doing it! I can't help it if I like heat. You must be a fire element because you're always the warmest- oof!" He got another kick, but this time she aimed a little lower. "T-that was… dirty…"

"Maybe that'll teach ya." She muttered.

Ashton shook his head. He almost felt bad for his cousin. Luckily, the white haired youth had long since adjusted to the sleeping habits of his cousin. They were similar in age, so they grew up together. They always did things in pairs.

"I hate to say this, Amaya, but antics like that won't work. All it does is keep him away while he's awake. Now tell me what's happening with this wind." He called over to her. She glanced up and stared at the dark sky. "What are we looking at? Is there a storm coming?"

She narrowed her eyes and smelled the air. "There's a cold front coming in fast."

Nitis pulled on his last layer of pants, which was the white and pale blue pants that Amaya had made him buy. "What's that mean?" He asked. Knowing what the weather might do seemed like a very good skill to have.

"Warm air doesn't move fast, so it's easy for a cold front to come and push it out of the way and higher into the atmosphere. If this is the case, then we're in for some sort of storm. In any case, it looks like snow and high winds."

This was true because they already had the high winds roaring at about thirty miles per hour and small flakes of snow had just started to fall.

"That's all I needed to know. Pack up! We're leaving now!" Ashton called to the others. In only a few short minutes, the dogs were strapped up and the gear was packed up. Nitis was checking his pockets and his pack to make sure that all his things were together. His hand touched something soft and he pulled on it to see what it was.

The item was a pair of goggles. There was a note attached to the soft, black strap. It said:

__

Just in case- Kanda

__

'When did she get into my things?'

he wondered. Nevertheless, he was thankful. _'I wish I would have known about these sooner.' _He thought.

Tadashi and Ashton were talking with their heads close together. Nitis looked up at the dark sky, only to be hit in the face with another gust of wind. This one was the most powerful yet, and it whipped up the thin layer of snow that they had stopped on.

"Hey you two!" Tadashi called over to the probationary ninja. "Listen, we're following Ashton again. We're going to try and race the storm."

"That's insane! You can't outrun any sort of storm!" Amaya said with a look of shock on her face.

Tadashi grinned. "Maybe, but we're going to stay as far ahead as possible for the longest time. Now get on the sled. Nitis, you're up front! Amaya, you're with me."

"Right!" The Nitis said.

Amaya just huffed. "I'm telling you that it's a safer bet to just find shelter until the storm passes. Trying to find shelter in a storm is very difficult, and not to mention you're putting the client at risk.

"That's good thinking, it means you're level headed and are a good thinker. But, you need to know when you can risk things as well. That's what makes this squad rank higher than the others."

"I think the two of them are either stupid or suicidal." The Kunoichi muttered next to her blonde partner.

The two Chuunin looked at each other, Ashton nodded, and Tadashi did the same. "Alright, Hike up!" The brunette called. The dogs, which had been wiggling in place, all sprang forward in a sudden rush.

Nitis pulled his legs up to his chest as he braced himself for a long, cold ride. After the dogs started to gain speed and the ride smoothed out, he pulled his scarf around his mouth and took the soft band that was apart of his goggles and pulled it over his ears. He felt his eyes get heavy and close for what felt like a minute. The next time they opened, everything around him was a dull gray color. _'Did I fall asleep?' _He wondered. It looked as though the sun was up somewhere behind the wicked looking, dark gray clouds. The snow was blowing in the same direction that they were running, spinning ten to fifteen feet in the air as if the gatherings of snow were dancing.

He bent his head back to see Amaya looking up at the sky and Tadashi looking right over the top of her head, strait towards where Ashton's sled could be seen in the distance at around a hundred yards away. He felt as if he needed to do something more, even though this was mostly Amaya's graduation mission.

He looked out to his left and only saw the wind wiping up more snow. It reminded him of someone going on a rampage. He turned his head one hundred and eighty degrees to the right and only saw more snow at first.

But something caught his eye. The riled up snow twisted and soon there was a small opening where he spotted some sort of fast moving mass. It was going the same speed as they were, its four legs pounding against the snow. But he knew the snow was deep, and even out here the snow would reach up to his shins. He had been amazed at how the dogs could run atop of the mess of white.

Eyes squinted; he tried to make out a real shape, and concluded that it was some sort of dog- like creature. The white fur made the snow around it look dirty and gray. _'Should I tell them? What could a dog do?'_ He figured he'd rather inform the other two incase it was some sort of spy dog.

"Hey Tadashi!" He yelled over the rushing snow, fast winds, and the loud barks of the sled dogs. The brunette looked down, eyebrows raised to let the blonde know that he could hear him. "There's a dog over there!"

Tadashi looked in the direction of where he pointed, looked back at Nitis and shook his head. "What?" He looked back to where the dog had been and couldn't find it. He thought maybe the swirling snow might have hidden it, but another gust came, and the window he had seen it in appeared, but the dog was gone. "Weird…" He muttered to himself.

The snow was falling harder now and Ashton had disappeared in the wall of snow. "Hike!" Tadashi yelled. The dogs heard his command and started to speed up.

It was another hour before Ashton came back into view. He had to slow down because he had lost visual of the other sled as well. They decided to stop and let the dogs rest for a short time.

"We're ahead of schedule. If we keep running we can make it to Nishima's home town by sundown." Ashton said.

__

'I thought it would take three days?'

Nitis thought. Luckily, he didn't have to ask about it because Amaya had already started to talk.

"But-"

"Now now, little miss. We gave ourselves an extra day. It only takes two days, and we were moving at a good speed." Tadashi said, poking her on the forehead.

Amaya huffed. "I see."

"You should have known that, since you're so smart and all." He said with a small taunt.

"I was thinking the same thing." Nitis put in.

Ashton patted the boy on the head. "It's okay. During these heavy snows, you'll be able to do more mental training then physical training, so I'll teach you what you need to know."

Nitis smiled. "Okay!"

After spending ten minutes snacking on thin strips of jerky and getting the dogs a drink of water and a small snack, they got back on the sleds and took off.

About midday, Amaya picked up on the wind change. The wind started to blow directly from the south, and the snow had started to come down even harder and the flakes seemed twice as large.

The large, white dog had shown itself to Nitis a few more times, but he didn't say anything. It just ran right along side of them, but just far enough that he had to squint to see it.

By the time the sun had started to go down, you wouldn't have been able to tell because they were surrounded by the storm. The wind had picked up to a pace that caused the sleds to be jerked around violently. The wall of snow was so thick that now the two sleds were riding side by side just so that they wouldn't loose each other.

__

'This is ridiculous! I can't see shit in this!'

Tadashi thought as he tried to find his cousin who was only ten feet away. He growled as he tightened his grip a little more. He noticed a sudden jolt of the back two dogs before the sled turned sideways and they forcefully stopped.

He released his hold on Amaya, who had been standing in front of him during the ride. He had smashed her against the handlebar with his body so that she wouldn't slip out like the way Nitis had and had one of his arms under hers to keep her pulled up a little.

He got off and rushed forward to see what had happened. He glanced at Nitis and saw that he was fine.

"Trees… Where the hell are we!?" He yelled at nobody in particular. He turned and looked at Nitis, who was pulling himself out of the sled, that had one side collapsed against the trees.

Nitis grabbed his left side after he stood up. It was sore from the impact. He had moved himself away from tree that was lodged against the sled, and his body. He didn't want Tadashi to worry about his injury.

Amaya was in a similar situation. Her torso was sore from Tadashi keeping her up and from falling off.

"Tsk. I thought there weren't any obstructions like this on Shumo Path?" Nitis muttered as he pulled himself out of the sled.

Tadashi looked at the sled before saying, "This is a little troublesome." He started to walk over to Amaya, who hadn't moved from her spot.

Nitis saw a pained expression fall over the girl's face. She was hurt, and Nitis had a feeling that she was going to cause a commotion if Tadashi noticed. "Tadashi! You need to catch up with Ashton and make sure that guy gets to his town." Nitis said as he walked up to the brunette.

"What about you two? I can't leave you here-"

"The mission is the top priority, right? That's what everyone says. And this way you're not leaving someone behind because there's two of us. We'll fix the sled and then catch up."

Tadashi stood, thinking about it for a moment. He didn't seem to like the idea of leaving the two behind in the storm.

"That's right. The mission's completion is the only thing that needs attention. I think we just veered off to the west a bit so finding the town won't be difficult." Amaya said in a confident tone.

Tadashi looked between the two younger teens before sighing. "Fine, but I'm expecting you two to be no later than an hour behind us. Any more and I'll come back out and hunt you down, got it?"

Nitis could tell Tadashi's mood had changed. He was more serious than usual, meaning this storm was probably starting to get to him. He quickly found the tracks that belonged to Ashton and started to run after his cousin. It only took a minute before he had disappeared from view.

**A/N: It's been a while, but here's the next chapter. I've had to postpone many of my stories because I've been working to keep my grades up and dealing with college issues, not to mention I'm getting nervous/excited about graduation comming up at the end of May. Those are my only excuses for the lack of updates. **

**This chapter was really hard to get out because I wanted to just write the next one since it'll be more exciting and the end of the this arc. After the next chapter we'll do a mini timeskip a few months ahead. It'll move the story better. I know you guys want to know what's happening with everyone in Konoha, but that'll come in good time. And around that time Naruto may make another appearance (Since I'm still debating when to bring him back into the picture along with all those other ghosties.) I'm sorry I have to cut this short (along with this chapter, it was going to be a little longer but there's a storm coming and its supposed to be a nasty one... I always turn my computer off duing storms.) I'll will try and post the next chapter before sunday as an appology for taking so long and posting such a pittiful chapter this time around. I'm on spring break so I still have (1, 2...) 6 more days before school starts up again. **

Blackblaze


	11. Pass or Fail

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* * *

**

The only move is forward

**Escort Mission Arc**

_**Pass or Fail**_

_Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the series of Naruto. I do, however, own my original characters, ideas, and this plot._

* * *

The moment Tadashi disappeared from view, Amaya dropped to her knees. The wrapped up blonde rushed over to her, bending down to see if he could help, although he wasn't sure what to do.

"Thanks, Nitis, for getting him away. I didn't want to slow anyone down." She heaved out. It was clear the wind had been knocked out of her.

"It's fine. What's wrong with you, anyways?" He asked.

One of her arms was tightly wrapped around her ribs. "I think when we crashed I cracked a few ribs… maybe even broke one." She said. "This storm's getting worse. We can't stay out in it. The longer we're out here, the less chances of us getting to safety." She muttered.

Nitis massaged his sore side. His vision blurred a little as well, although he had no clue as to why that was. He walked over and checked out the sled. The bottom had a large crack and a small section missing from the front. He pulled at it until it moved and was back, flat on the ground. But what caught his attention was the whining from the dogs.

He walked over to them to see them squirming to get closer to the two lead dogs, Sitch and Mika. Mika was whining and lying on her side, and Sitch was slowly moving his head from side to side. It seemed to Nitis that they had hit the trees head on and had gotten hurt badly.

He walked over and took off his glove so that he could pet Mika. He felt something unusual about her shoulders and ribs, but he didn't know anything about dogs so all he could do was know where things felt wrong.

Sitch's white nose was dyed red, along with some of the snow he had been rubbing his nose in. "Come here, let me see that, boy." Nitis said. The dog tried to stand up, but fell back into sitting position, whining. Nitis was afraid to hurt the dog, so he took his time looking for the injury. There was a gash on the bridge of the red husky's nose, and it seemed like his back was hurt.

He unhooked the two from the gangline and picked Mika up first. It took a while since she wiggled around a lot because of the pain and finally he managed to get her onto the sled. It didn't take quite as long to get Sitch on. He seemed to know that Nitis was only helping him and his lead partner so he stayed still.

He walked back to Amaya, who was still sitting in the snow. A thin layer of snow had already gathered on her hat and shoulders. "C'mon, Amaya." He bent down and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "We've got two dogs injured. Can you stand?"

She nodded. "I-I'll stand in front of you. I'm feeling a little better." She said slowly as he helped her up.

It was almost pitch black now. "Amaya, how are we going to see?" He asked.

She glared up at the sky. "We'll just have to go by instinct since we lost Ashton's tracks a long time ago. These trees must mean that we've gotten too close to the mountain range."

He didn't know the land around here, so he just went along with what the girl was saying. "Okay, but we lost both our lead dogs. Can any of the others run at the front?" He asked. The dogs that were out of view started barking.

"One of them should be able to-" Amaya turned her head and looked at the tree that they had hit. Nitis's eyes flicked in that same direction and caught the large form of the white dog that had appeared when they summoned the other sled dogs before they left. The wolf was staring at him, it's silver blue eyes so intense that it caused a shiver to go up his back. "Nitis-" Amaya started.

"I think it's okay." He replied. He put his hand out to see if the wolf would come to him. But instead, it walked over to the sled and lightly pulled on Sitch's harness until it slipped off. It carried it over to Nitis and waited for him to take it from it's mouth.

He let Amaya go and slowly put the harness on it. He was amazed at how soft the fur was on it's back because the sled dogs had ice and snow caked onto their fur, and yet she had none.

"Can you get us out of this storm?" He asked.

The wolf made a snorting sound with its nose and walked to the front of the gang line. Amaya wasn't sure what to think, so she decided to slowly walk over and fix the handle with some rope they had in the sled.

Nitis came back and asked if she was ready to go. "Yeah. If we can just get out of this wind we'll be okay." She said as she pulled the strap across her back. Nitis walked up and placed his feet on the two boards before doing the same.

He was about to call the starting command when the sled started to slowly move forward. Amaya turned her head and looked at him with a confused expression.

The sled was slowly turned around. He could barely see them, but the dogs were just walking right at the moment. He felt his hand start to burn, and remembered that he had taken his glove off. He looked through his pockets but it was gone. As a substitute he pulled his scarf off and wrapped it around his hand. The bottom of his face was cold, but it wasn't burning like his hand had been.

They started to pick up speed. Nitis hadn't heard Amaya call any commands. _'Is that wolf leading us by itself?' _He wondered.

Amaya was cursing at the darkness surrounding her and her partner along with the winter storm._ 'This is ridiculous! This storm should have passed over us by now with the wind speed so fast.' _She thought.

Then she remembered something. "Nitis?"

He looked over her shoulder. "Yeah?"

"The wind changed direction today, right?"

"That's what you said earlier, when it was light out." He replied.

"Che. Then this storm might be longer than I anticipated. If the wind shifted and this was a long and thin storm, then we could be getting blasted with it for who knows how long."

Nitis looked up at the sky. "That's not good. But we've been getting hit by it since early this morning so hopefully it'll be over before tomorrow." He said.

"Hm, maybe. Let's hope, at the very least." She said.

After a while, both shinobi were getting drowsy, and Nitis's vision was getting worse. They had no idea how long they'd been riding or even where they were going, but they were still moving at a moderate speed.

Nitit's eyes closed for a moment to try and stop the spinning. He felt Amaya lean back on him a bit. He didn't want to open his eyes. He just wanted to sleep. He felt himself leaning back as well, and that's when his eyes snapped open.

They were on an incline. He looked around and saw trees everywhere. The wind was less vicious and there was less snow littering the ground. _'Oh no.' _He mentally sighed. _'Where are we?'_

Amaya was still leaning on him. He looked over her shoulder to see that she was long gone in sleep. Afraid that she would fall, he wrapped one arm around her stomach.

They soon came to a stop. This jolted Amaya out of her sleep. "Are we… where are we?" She muttered. Her head was bobbing from left to right. Even if he didn't know what it was, he had a feeling that it wasn't good.

"I don't know." Nitis muttered. He got off the sled and walked to where the white wolf was.

She was standing still; the only movement came from the wind gliding across her fur. Her gaze was staring strait ahead. He looked up and found what she was looking at. There was a small cliff ahead of them, but strait ahead, right under the cliff was a whole in the snow.

Amaya's footsteps could be heard walking towards him. "A cave?"

"Looks like it." He said. He felt relieved. This way they could stay out of the elements of their surroundings and try and wait out the storm. "Come on."

The dogs slowly started to move forward. He decided to unhook them and let them go in the cave, too. When he got to the wolf, he patted her head. "Thanks a lot. You really saved us." She tilted her head.

Amaya was looking though the busted crate. "We don't have any food." She said to herself. "We can use this crate as fire wood. I've still got some energy left to create a fire jutsu."

He nodded, grabbed the busted crate and carried it to the entrance. He couldn't see inside for anything. He set the crate down by the entrance and waited for Amaya to cast her fire jutsu on it.

She walked up to him carrying the tarp that had been covering the front end of the sled. "We can probably use this." She said.

"You go ahead and light that thing on fire. I'll go look for some sticks to keep it going." He said and walked away.

Amaya pulled a slab of the wood off of the crate and with a few hand signs, had it lit on fire. She put the lit torch up to the opening. There was enough room to crawl into, so that's what she did. She dropped to her knees and pushed the snow out of her way before crawling in.

About ten feet in, the small crawl space turned into a large open area. Stalagmites and stalactites were littering the area. They could all easily fit both dogs and humans. She called the dogs in, and all but the wolf and the two injured dogs came in.

She crawled back out and then pushed the rest of the crate in. After she lit it on fire, she sat and waited for Nitis to come.

She thought she heard something crack, but assumed it was the wood popping in the fire.

Nitis was coming back with his arms full of wood when he heard a crack as well. _'What was that?' _He was sure there was no one around, so assumed it was Amaya. Sitch and Mika were lying next to each other on the sled, and the wolf was standing by the cave entrance. Her ears were back and she was looking up at the cliff.

He pushed the sticks through and crawled out into the large open area where Amaya was leaning against one of the dogs. She looked like she was about to fall asleep. He needed to ask her what to do about the two runners outside.

He stood up and walked over to her. "Amaya? Hey." She looked up at him. "Will the two dogs be okay out in the snow?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes. You don't have to worry about them freezing. They're winter coats are more… more affective than our cloths." She closed her eyes.

Nitis felt the cave starting to warm up so he took off his coat. He put it over the slumbering girl and added a few of the smaller sticks on the fire. The dogs were all piled up behind him, so he decided to lie his head down on the one behind him and closed his eyes. _'I hope Ashton and Tadashi made it to the town.'_

He sat up quickly and looked around. Something had startled him, but he didn't know what. He looked at the fire and noticed that it was almost gone. After he put a few of the larger sticks on the fire and making sure it started back up, he stood up. Amaya was asleep, but her breathing was a little ragged.

He leaned over her and pulled his jacket off her face, which she had unconsciously covered sometime or another. Her face was pale, but her cheeks were bright red. He touched her face and felt the heat rising. She had a fever.

He didn't know what to do in this sort of situation either. He felt practically worthless. Deciding that he had to go to the bathroom, he crawled out of the cave. He'd try and think of something while he was out in the cold.

__

'This is going to be painful.'

He thought as he unzipped his pants. He cringed at the cold. After he finished and zipped up his pants, he heard the crack again. But instead of just one crack, he heard a large number of cracks. He looked up when something started to rumble above his head.

Chunks of sharp icicles started to rain down towards him. "What the hell!?" He jumped out of the way as an icicle the size of his body landed mere inches away from him. "Uh-oh." He muttered.

He had to keep jumping out of the way so that the shards of ice didn't hit him. He created a shadow clone to push the dogsled as close as it could go to the cave since nothing seemed to be falling there. Moments latter a massive amount of snow roared over him. It reminded him of a waterfall, how it poured over the edge of the cliff.

He wasn't paying attention because something sharp stung at his shoulder and back. He fell to the ground with a thump as he went blind with pain. He darted back into the cave, dragging his sore arm.

Amaya had woken up and was trying to move towards the entrance when he scurried in. "Nitis? What's happening- What happened to your arm? You're bleeding all over the place!" She raised her voice.

All he could see was white and silver, and all he felt was pain. It was spreading down his back and his arm had gone numb. He could hear Amaya coughing.

He tried to shake the pain away but nothing was working. Something was pulling at his shirt.

It was Amaya. She couldn't get the shirt off, so she pulled out a kunai and sliced it off. She was shocked to see all his protective gear smashed and ripped. She had felt the ground rumbling and something roaring above. Then, right before Nitis dived in, she had seen something surrounded by silver.

She wasn't thinking strait, felt hot, and yet, she felt cold as well. She took the jacket that she had found on her and put it under his head as she rolled him on his stomach so she could see the gash.

It ran all the way down to the top of his pants, down the top of his shoulder and arm… and it was deep, very deep. Blood was oozing out at such a horribly fast pace that she couldn't even think of where to start. His face was turned towards her, and she noticed that the goggle's strap had a brown stain on it. She took off the goggles that he had left and found a small injury on his head.

Without thinking, she pushed the wound together with her hands. The blood made it difficult to keep it together, but if she could just keep it together until it slowed down or dried shut, then she'd be able to wrap it.

The cold seemed to be on her side, because the wound dried quickly and stayed shut just long enough for her to get into her pack. She pulled out the gauze and white training tape and placed the gauze on the large wound on his back. The training tape took a long time to get around his body.

"Nitis?" She muttered. "Are you okay?" She asked. "We have to leave in the morning, Nitis." She continued to murmur to herself until she fell asleep next to the injured boy.

XxXxXxX

Tadashi was being thoroughly scolded by his cousin. In fact, he was slightly annoyed at himself as well. After he caught up with Ashton, which was extremely difficult on its own, Ashton had asked where the other two were. After Tadashi had explained what had happened, he could hear how he was tricked by Nitis and Amaya by them saying that the mission was top priority.

He hadn't checked to make sure neither of them was hurt.

Ashton said he wasn't worried too much about the storm, but said that if they had been hurt in anyway, that being in the storm would increase the danger they were in. "How'd you even become a Chuunin?" The white haired teen asked.

The storm was over and the bright moon was out, illuminating the area. It had ended around one in the morning, and the minute it did Ashton had both him and his cousin back onto the sled, trying to remember around what direction they had come from. But, they had been running for over an hour and still hadn't found anything besides the tree line.

"This is crazy. Do you see the area were you crashed? Surely the tree had to take some sort of damage-"

"There!" Tadashi yelled, pointing to the tree. Ashton had to shush him. There was a portion of the bark that was torn off. The called the dogs to halt and rushed over. The now had long since covered any sort of tracks, and now it was even deeper than before. It was up to their knees in this area, so it made walking a little more difficult than before. "Tadashi, you busted the sled up, right?"

Tadashi nodded. "Yeah, the base was smashed a little, so it wouldn't have been able to keep up or even go anywhere out in that."

Ashton ran his gloved fingers over the deep scar in the tree that had been created barely a few hours earlier. "I bet some of the dogs hit head on were hurt. Did you check?"

"I checked, but the back dogs wouldn't let me through to see the front runners."

"They were probably all a little hurt." Ashton muttered. "But if the sled was damaged, where could they have gone?"

Tadashi started to walk in to the trees where the snow was thinner. "Probably this way. Come on."

They trudged through the ankle deep snow for ten minutes before they came across a large snow wall. "Look, Tadashi. There was an avalanche here." He whispered as he grabbed his cousin's arm, stopping him from moving forward. "I hope they didn't get caught in that. That man said this area was prone to avalanches during the winter."

Tadashi felt a stab of fear. If the two had been caught in the avalanche, he would never forgive himself. He was about to try and climb onto the mound of snow when he heard something near by. He turned to Ashton to see if he had heard it too.

Ashton nodded and pointed to the right. The two crept as quietly as they could through the snow, careful not to startle anything or make any unnecessary noises. The sound came again. It was a low wailing sound that seemed to carry far into the night.

The new sound of fast, crunching snow coming in their direction made them both dart behind a tree. Ashton looked around the tree base, a kunai held tightly in his gloved hand.

A small, dark figure came to a halt where Ashton and Tadashi had been walking seconds before. It turned its head in the opposite direction before smelling the air and turning to look directly at the two Abyss Chuunins. It yipped at them, its pointed ears twitching slightly. Then, it jumped up, barking twice.

Tadashi walked closer, showing himself. "Ashton, that's one of the lead dogs on my sled. They're nearby." He said.

"Yeah, but where?" He whispered.

Sitch sat down and whined. Tadashi bent down and rubbed the snow dog. "You're hurt. Look, Ashton. His nose is cut up a little."

"Yeah? Well, then let's keep looking. We'll need him to help us find Nitis and Amaya."

Tadashi nodded. "Right!"

The dog walked with a limp, but otherwise seemed fine. He'd let out a small yip, and the wailing sound would quickly fill the air. Finally, Sitch stopped and turned to the teens.

"Whoa. Look at the size of these…" Ashton said. He walked up and put his hand on the human sized tower of ice. His dark blue eyes looked up. "Tadashi, be careful, there's a cliff up there. There might be more of these."

Tadashi wasn't listening. He was looking at a hole in the snow. Sitch dug at the snow by the hole, giving Tadashi the idea that maybe the others were under the heavy blanket. "Alright. Let's get started." He muttered, putting his hands into the snow.

It didn't take long for the sled and the other injured dog to be dug out. She weakly lifted her head and licked Tadashi's face. "Tadashi, I don't think that Nitis and Amaya are with the sled." Ashton muttered.

"I think… you might be right. But where are they?" The brunette asked.

Their answer was the sound of claws scratching at rock. They both turned and waited, watching the area where the scraping sound was coming from. A moment latter, an odd, white shape pushed though the snow.

__

'What…?'

They both thought. Neither knew what was coming out of the snow. First it was the top of a white nose, then a white snout. Soon, almost an entire head was trying to push through.

"It's that wolf!" Tadashi almost yelled again. The large white head disappeared and a paw appeared, trying to dig out of her hole.

Sitch limped over to the hole and used his good paw to try and help the wolf out. It didn't take her long, but Ashton and Tadashi were confused. The wolf crawled out, shook the snow off her gorgeous fur. She whined, running up to Ashton and tugging on his sleeve with her teeth. She let go and darted back to the hole she crawled out of.

Tadashi bent down and looked in. "This hole's about five feet deep-"

"No, listen!" Ashton said. More scraping and whining could be heard coming from behind the small tunnel of snow. "Damn, I bet they're in here!" He hissed. _'If only I knew some fire jutsu.' _He thought.

Tadashi couldn't get in the hole with Ashton, so he continued to help the injured dogs and get the busted sled out of its snow casket. "Tadashi, dig out some of this snow so that I don't get caught in here." Ashton ordered.

After a while, Ashton stopped. He sighed and looked at the wall of snow in front of him. _'How far in could they be?' _He wondered. He could here the dogs on the other side, but for some reason it seemed like he wasn't getting any closer. It didn't help that the snow was practically solid, being tightly packed into such a small area.

"Damn." He growled, hitting his fist against the wall of snow. The second he took his hand away, the wall crumbled and the path was slightly illuminated by a warm glow. "Heh." He army crawled his way through the next few feet until he entered the cavern, a dark colored dog backing up and making room for him.

He pushed himself up and stretched his arm behind his head as he walked over to the two slumbering teens. As he walked, it sounded as if he was walking in a water puddle. He looked down and noticed a thin line of light shimmering on the floor. He decided against checking it out since he needed to get to the others first.

The dogs all wagged their tails, but the three lying around Nitis and Amaya just lifted their heads. "I'm here, you two." He whispered. He bent over and looked at the two sleeping figures. He pulled Nitis's jacket back, since it was being used to cover both their upper torsos.

Blood. It was everywhere. He searched frantically for the source and easily found the large wound on Nitis's chest. It ran down his arm, too, but it seemed like Amaya had tried to give as much first aide as she could. He looked a little closer once he unwrapped a portion of his chest, pulling the skin apart at the center.

He sighed with relief. The wound wasn't as deep as he thought. It was serious, but nothing that would kill him for a couple of days. He quickly checked Amaya, but all she had was a fever and a broken rib.

As he wrapped Nitis back up, Amaya stirred, but never woke up. She only continued to mutter, "he's dying," and "the blood won't stop."

__

'There is a lot of blood. Where'd it all come from anyways? Nitis couldn't have bled that badly.'

He continued to think. He tried to get Amaya to wake up. "Amaya. C'mon sweetie. If you don't I'll have Tadashi come in here and get you." He said in a sing song tone.

Her eyes moved underneath her eyelids. Finally, her eyes cracked open and she saw her sempai. "Sempai…?" She sat upright. "Sempai! Nitis is hurt-!"

"Shh. You'll set off an avalanche. And Nitis'll be okay."

"But… he wouldn't stop bleeding. I could see his bones in some places-."

He frowned and pulled his hand out of its glove. "You must be hallucinating." He muttered as he put his hand to her forehead. "Probably. That or you were having a bad dream."

She stood up. "N-no, Sempai! I know what I saw-" He grabbed her arms lightly.

"Amaya, it's okay. He'll. Be. Fine." He said slowly. "Now you crawl out to Tadashi, I'll take care of everything here."

She looked down at Nitis and looked at her sloppy first aide. _'I know what I saw, Sempai.' _She thought as she dropped to her knees and crawled out.

Tadashi had long since got the other injured dog out and had gotten the sled out, too. He looked around for the wolf, but once she was done, she had disappeared. He looked over and spotted someone coming out.

He walked over to the person as they made their way out. Bending down to look in, he could see it was Amaya. "Hey, you- What happened?!" He almost yelled. The red stains were visible even in the bright moon light.

He reached down to help her up by putting his arm under hers. Once standing, he could tell she was hurt. "Where'd all that blood come from?" He demanded.

His tone startled her. "It's N-nitis's… blood. Sempai s-said he'd be okay." She chattered.

Seeing she was cold, he took his top layer jacket off and made her put it on. He could feel the heat radiating off of her though all his layers. Unwrapping his face, he put his forehead on hers. "Your fever is five degrees higher than it should be." He muttered, straitening up. "Go sit in the sled." He ordered.

If she had had more energy, she would have punched the Chuunin for the way he took her temperature, but since she was lacking in the energy department, she simply nodded and stumbled over to the good sled.

Soon, the dogs walked out of the hole, closely followed by Ashton, who was slowly dragging Nitis out on the tarp that they had taken in.

"Is he okay?" Tadashi asked, hovering over the unconscious body. He had really gotten attached to the boy since he had moved in and didn't like seeing him like this.

Ashton nodded. "He's cut up pretty badly, but he'll survive. We need to get them back into town."

XxXxXxXxX

Kalari sat in her office chair, tapping her foot against the edge of her desk as she sat with one leg crossed. _'Those brats are a day and a half late.' _She thought irritably. The only upside to this was that this was the one squad that didn't have any aggravating relatives coming to visit every two hours, asking where their loved one was or if they were back.

Ashton was her son, and since her husband was dead, there was nobody there since she couldn't complain to herself.

Tadashi was Keru and Kanda's son, but their complaints never came and she could just ignore them anyways.

Amaya was an orphan whose sister has been labeled MIA from her trip, so no one there.

And Nitis, who, even if he _had _family, he was just some poor kid who had their memories knocked loose.

Basically… no complaints for the missing squad. It was easier on her this way.

She knew exactly who was at fault for their lateness, too. It was always Tadashi. No matter what the situation, it wouldn't have happened if Tadashi had or hadn't done something.

The door handle turned, taking her out of her daze. She looked up and was relieved to see the squad she had just been thinking about walking in. It did surprise her that Nitis had a bandage wrapped tightly around his head and his arm was in a sling. The only thing Kalari could think about now was how the blonde kid could come in looking like he was in a serious battle.

She stayed seated, staring at them. The only movement came from her continuously tapping foot on her desktop. She knew that her son would be the first to talk because he got this treatment daily.

"We apologize for returning so late-"

"I wonder if you are, Ashton." She said coolly. "Two days late, too. It could only be cause by my irresponsible nephew." She said, her eyes narrowing and redirecting themselves to the brunette.

"Hey now, it's not always my fault."

"Was it this time?"

"Well… maybe just a little."

"I see. Anyways, you two go write your reports. I'll take care of these two." She said, waving her hand to shoo the two Chuunin. Once they were gone, she looked at the two leftover.

"You're both hurt?" she asked.

They nodded.

"I see. It looks like you both should go to the hospital, let me see now…" She turned and looked out her window. "There we go- Reno! Get in here!" She called out after pushing the glass up.

Both teens could hear the familiar redhead yell back "why?!"

"Because I said so! Now get in here!" She closed the window to avoid have any more cold coming into her office and because she didn't want to give him the chance to say no.

She rotated in her chair and looked at the two teens again. "Okay you two. I want a verbal report from you. Sweet, simple, and to the point, please. Those two will be in detail and they usually make up something here and there to make it sound better." She said, leaning forward on her hand. "And do it before that wild child comes in."

Nitis glanced at Amaya. The people at the town gave her some medicine, but her fever never broke, so she was still ill, couldn't eat, and Ashton said she was a little delirious.

He leaned forward a little. "Ok… this is how it went; we were on course, then a storm started coming so re tried to outrun it. Failed. The dogs on our sled were hurt so I told Tadashi to catch up with Ashton. Me and Amaya got caught in an avalanche, I got hit by large chunks of ice. They found us. I'm hurt and Amaya's sick and delusional. The end."

She smirked. "I like it. If need be, you can come in later after you're rested up and give me a few more details if I don't find my boys' reports to be… completely true." She looked up. "There you are, Reno. I need you to escort these two to the hospital."

"Why me?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Didn't you just tell me yesterday when your team got back that you wanted to learn some medical ninjutsu because you kept hurting your allies instead of your enemies?"

"Well, yeah, I suppose."

"And I looked over your files and your Jonin sensei commented on your excellent chakra control. That is a very crucial key in medical ninjutsu." He stared blankly at her. "I'll tell you later. Just get those two to the hospital." She tilted her head a bit to the side. "I'll come see you two later, okay. I'm going to tell Kanda that her new child is back."

Reno smirked and put his hand on Nitis's head. "She's talking about you, ya'know."

He looked up at Reno. "Really? You mean Kanda didn't miss Tadashi?"

Reno shook his head, thinking how dense this kid was some times. "Never mind. Come on, kiddies. I'll lead the way on our journey to the hospital!" He said gleefully.

Nitis thought of something. "Hey… Reno?"

The redhead looked over his shoulder. "Hmm?"

"Do you have any weapons on you?" He asked cautiously, hoping the answer was no.

XxXxXxXxX

The blonde winced as the doctor slowly moved his arm up and down, trying to stretch the muscles. "It's odd…" Gota muttered. "Some of your muscles were torn, but more like they were ripped into, but your injury isn't all that bad. It could be from a previous injury, but what are the chances of getting an identical injury?"

Nitis shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. All of this medical talk just confuses me." He said.

Gota laughed and turned his head when Amaya and a nurse walked it. She looked a little grumpy, but she seemed batter than before. She took a seat next to Nitis. "What's with that face?" He asked.

She crossed her arms. "I can't do any physical training or lift anything over ten pounds until my rib is better. I had to have a shot to strengthen my immune system, and the medicine I have to take tastes like puke."

"Hmm." He smiled. "Better you than me-"

"Don't say that, Nitis. You're getting some, too. You know, to break that small fever you have." Gota turned to the nurse who had been treating Amaya and took the small cup filled with a dark colored liquid. "Here."

Nitis made a sour face, and Amaya grinned evilly. "It's what you get, Nitis." She whispered.

He gulped and took the cup. Tipping the cup upwards, he dumped it into his mouth. But it wouldn't last. The moment it settled on his tongue, his body rejected the substance and he spit it out… onto Gota. Feeling terrified, he sputtered out. "I-I'm… I'm sorry!"

Gota laughed. "I get that reaction a lot. I've had worse on me, but what'd you expect it to taste like? Candy?"

Nitis looked down. "Well, no… but I didn't expect it to taste so… disgusting."

Amaya gave him her 'I told you so' look.

"Well, other than that, you two are free to go." Gota said, straitening up. "I'm going to clean myself up, so take care." He said as he walked out of the room.

Nitis and Amaya sat there for a while, not moving and not talking. Finally, Nitis spoke up. "Well, what now?"

"I guess we go home." She said. Nitis stood up, and she looked up at him suspiciously as she did the same. "You know, Nitis, that injury you got is almost like you were just scratched. But… there was all that blood in the cave and I know it didn't come from me. And I remember it oozing out of that monster injury. How could it already be almost healed?"

He stopped and looked back at her. "I don't know. I know it really hurt, and you were yelling a little… but I never saw how bad it was. I'll say that it has healed faster than the last time I got hurt, though. Ashton said I could have died from it if I didn't take care of it, but now it isn't even anything to worry about."

"I guess." She muttered. Her head was starting to spin. "Well, I'll see you later. I need to get home." She said once they got outside.

Nitis told her he'd walk with her. "You still have a fever. You could collapse and Ashton and Tadashi wouldn't be too pleased with me if that happened."

She huffed. "You have a fever, too."

"So. It's not as bad as yours. Look, steam's coming off of your head." He said, pointing to the visible heat leaving her body. She soon gave in.

Amaya's home wasn't as big as the one he was staying in, but it was livable for a small family. It had two bedrooms, the living room and kitchen were in one and the same, a bathroom, and a small room for miscellaneous things. Unlike Tadashi's house, this house had all wooden floors so he had to take his boots off before coming in.

Amaya pulled her coat off and sat on a cushion on the floor. "Sorry. There's not much here. My sister and I never had much since our parents died." She sighed.

Nitis didn't want to say anything inappropriate or something that would make her mad. Spending the last two weeks with her had shown him that she has a temper. Some people would say she's a short fuse.

Something caught his eye. Hanging on the far wall was an old fashioned fan made of large feathers. The handle was black and had gold trimming the grip and the round ball at the end. The feathers were as white as snow.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing to the fan.

Amaya looked over at it. "Oh, that? I don't know. It's always been there since as long as I can remember. My mom told me that it's precious, but I can't remember why."

"You're pretty forgetful, aren't you?" He replied smoothly. "Forgetting what my wound looked like, forgetting what direction we were headed in. You were even late for our mission-"

"Nitis! You can't talk much. I saw you and Tadashi running in front of me. You guys were just as late as me." She took a breath, then smiled. Slowly, they started to laugh.

"Hey Amaya. While we're healing, could you teach me some more about weather pattern? It was really helpful and I have no idea about any of it." He asked after they stopped laughing.

"Sure."

"What's going on here?" Kalari's voice trailed in, startling the two teens. She walked in after removing her shoes, followed by Ashton and Tadashi.

"We didn't know where you guys ran off to." Ashton said.

"Sorry." They muttered.

Kalari looked around the room. Nobody had been in here for the longest time. The last time she had been here was when their mother died. She looked back at them. "Well, I'm here to give your evaluation."

Amaya nodded. "I understand."

Kalari pulled a piece of paper out and looked at it. "Ashton said that he believes you are very capable to be a genin, showing great intelligence concerning the path and the weather. Your ability to stay calm in a situation is also very calming to my nerves seeing as we have a lot of hot heads."

__

'You're probably looking at the biggest hot head in this village.'

Nitis thought with a sideways glance away from everyone.

"Being able to improvise and find shelter in such a dangerous place is also well looked upon. That's why I'm promoting you to Genin and placing you on a genin team after you're healed. Nitis-"

"Hmm?" He looked away from the fan he'd been looking at. "What?"

"You'll also be promoted,"

"What?!" all four teens cried out, clearly surprised by this call. "-but you're banned from going on out of town missions until I can send you out without worrying. You've got some skills, but with your memory condition I'm going to wait. Until then, you can take level 4 missions in the village."

Nobody spoke.

Kalari tilted her head. "What?"

"Are you sure? I mean… I'm nobody. All I can do is walk on walls and make a clone-"

"A shadow clone, Nitis." Tadashi corrected.

"Yeah. And I mean, I just want to remember who I am-"

"I told you before, Nitis. This is how you're going to pay rent for us letting you live here. And besides, if you can already do things like that, then I'm positive you were a ninja from another village. Just trust me on this and you'll be fine. That's all." She finished and walked out.

Ashton, Tadashi, and Amaya all looked at Nitis to see what his final reaction would be. He looked back at them. "I didn't expect this." He muttered.

The other three practically crashed to the floor.

* * *

END ESCORT MISSION ARC

* * *

**Preveiw-**

"Reno! Would you please not do that!" Nitis yelled as he caught the kunai that had accidentally been released from Reno's hand. A thin cut line appeared on his hand. He glared at it for a short while. "Aren't you supposed to be at Kalari's office? I thought you were leaving today?" He said, looking up at the taller teen.

The redhead shrugged. "Yeah. But I'm not being transported there, I'm going by foot so I can leave whenever I want."

__

'Bummer. That means I have to keep my guard up for a little longer.'

He was still constantly injured by the clumsy Chuunin but because of his training he could usually just get away with small cuts or bruises.

"Why are you leaving again? To learn how to _not _injure poor bystanders like myself?" He asked, his voice clearly being wary of the older teen.

Reno smacked him on the head. "Quiet, you misfit. And no. I'm going to learn medical ninjutsu-"

"So you can heal the people you injure?" Nitis asked sarcastically. This earned him another smack.

Reno wrapped one arm around the younger boy's neck. "Well, truthfully, your right. But saying it like that makes it seem like I just want to learn it to et myself out of trouble. I actually _do_ want to help people, and this woman said she's willing to teach anyone who wants to learn medical ninjutsu. She even wrote in her letter that she'd even teach an enemy, because people who know medical ninjutsu have compassion and will heal anyone before letting someone die- Hey! You're not even listening Nitis!"

Nitis had already started to walk away. He was walking towards a boy with wild, sky blue hair. "Hey Yusuke. Have you seen Ashton? Tadashi disappeared before I woke and now I can't find either of them."

Yusuke shrugged. "Nah, I haven't seen them- Oh! But Maria Sensei said that their sensei came back from his mission so maybe they went to see him."

**Yay for finishing the Escort mission arc! I hate the snow, and writing about it was just as bad. The preview was just because I didn't stop writing. It's based in the spring, so there's a few months in between the two arcs. I have to say that the EMA didn't come out completely how I wanted it. It got a little slow so I just sped up the process and finsihed it in one chapter. Why drag it out and make it even more horrible than it already is, right? :) I did think that I had put a new idea into the naruverse, but I forgot that in the first movie Kakashi used a dogsled -- So much for that. I was watching it the other day and when I saw that part all I could say was damn. **

**Also, I'm sorry I didn't post last week. I thought I'd have all weekend free during my spring break, but little cousins happened and... well... it's hard to write and watch kids. This time, however, I will not promise any time about when it'll be updated because I truthfully have no idea. Schools getting closer to the end (I'm graduating in 29days +- a day or two) So I'm working on that, which is more importaint. But I am still working on getting out of this nonwriting hole I dug myself into. I think it was the cold... I hate it (as stated above) Well. thanks for reading!**

_**Blackblaze **_


	12. Goodbye and Welcome Back

__

'I gotta get loose…'

was the thought running through a certain blonde teen's mind. He was currently tied to a tree while two men taunted him from about five feet away.

-Sigh- I'll tell you at the bottom. Nothing serious I guess -.-

The only move is forward

_Goodbye and Welcome Back_

* * *

"That's what ya get for tryin' ta spy on us instead of bringin' your team, kid. Feh!" The mask man scoffed. "You sure are a retarded ass kid." The blonde smirked, causing the masked man's eyebrows to move upwards, showing some emotion. "What? 'Chu think you've outsmarted us, dumb ass-"

"No, I think you're the dumb ass here, buddy." And with a puff of smoke he was gone.

The blonde looked up. "We've got them. They're about two minutes from here." He said to his two teammates, his blue eyes sparkling.

"What? Where'd that little bastard go?!" The other man growled.

"Up here!" the blonde called from a branch with small buds on its branches. His arms were crossed and he had a smug smile on his face.

The smaller and unmasked of the two men turned towards the other. "What are you waiting for, Kol?! Go up there and kill him!"

The masked man, Kol, nodded and jumped forward, climbing the tree with ease.

Nitis unfolded his arms. "Oh, so you can climb trees, too?" He asked.

The man pulled a kunai out and tried to cut the blonde, but he simply caught the blade in his hand. The black cloth-like marital wrapped around his palms and the backs of his hands enabled him to block weapons' attacks and not be injured if he grabbed shape blades. This seemed to catch the man off guard. The blonde used this chance to kick his legs out from under him, sending him to the ground.

"Tadashi was right. Big guys fall hard-" He sidestepped the incoming shuriken from Kol's partner. "Good try, dude, but not enough." The taunting was clearly getting to the man because his face was turning red. The blonde tilted his head down a bit. "Hey man, you might want to rest. It looks like your blood pressure is rising fast-"

"That's it! You're DEAD!" The man yelled, pulling something round out of his pocket.

"Hmm?" He leaned a little closer to try and see what it was.

The man tossed it at him. "Catch, kid."

He caught it and looked at it. "Oh no-"

The three running towards the blonde and the two enemy had to stop and cover their faces when the blast of air and debris came rushing towards them. The taller two looked down at the blonde. "What was that?!" The brunette asked.

The blonde shook some of the dirt out of his hair then stared at the brunette. "Are you joking me? It was a bomb! What did it sound like?!"

"Really?" The brunette replied.

"Hell yeah! That jerk blew up my clone!" The blonde yelled, his hands fisted up.

Tadashi walked forward. "Well… the big guy's dead. I found his body." He said as he nudged the charred body. It was still twitching. "I hate this. Can't we just throw him off a cliff?"

"No. Leave him here for now. We've got to get the other one or he's going to get off with Nishima's wife's heirloom. Now get a move on it!" Ashton said.

"I'm about tired of doing stuff for this guy. He's made us deal with stupid crap like this for the past three months. And Aunt Kalari is always putting us up with them!" Tadashi whined.

"Get over it. At least we've cut their numbers down from ten to one. They're sneaky, but they're stupid. I'm done with these cat and mouse missions. This guy's dead." Ashton said as he pulled out his two-toned blade.

Ashton pushed ahead once his target came into view. "Gotcha." He whispered. He held the katana behind his back as he moved in. With two swipes, the guy was bleeding on the ground. "Now give me that stupid ass picture you son of a bitch!" Ashton growled, stomping on the half dead man's arm.

Nitis and Tadashi held back a little ways from the angry Chuunin. "I'm a little scared…" Nitis muttered, standing close to Tadashi.

Tadashi gulped. "Yeah, me too. Lucky for us he doesn't get this bad very often, so all we have to do is just ride with the storm and we'll survive."

Nitis nodded slowly, irritated that he couldn't be the one to finish off the guy that had caused so much trouble for them, but also scared to move too fast for fear that his sempai would turn and take some of his anger out on the poor genin.

All this irritation because some group of guys stole a picture. Nitis had no idea why they did it, but Mrs. Nishima wanted it and they had to retrieve it on a number of occasions.

* * *

"Good job, boys." Kalari said, taking the photo and putting it into a file until Nishima's wife could come retrieve it. "I'm afraid we'll have to find another place to hide it." She muttered.

"Mom. Please, for the love of god, do not send us on another mission dealing with that photo or those people." Ashton nearly yelled.

Navy eyes narrowed. "If you need something to do, go punch a tree, Ashton. I don't appreciate that tone and I will not tolerate it any longer."

He huffed and strode out of the room. Nitis decided to follow him. Tadashi would have, too, but Kalari called him back.

Nitis looked around when he exited the building, but Ashton was already gone. _'He's probably going to go and beat up some defenseless tree.' _He thought as he started to make his way home. He had nothing better to do today anyways.

He walked down the main street and recognized a head of bright red hair. The top was wild and short, but the back was held in a long ponytail. The tall teen turned, as if feeling someone staring with the intent to hide. "Ah, Nitis! Come here!" He hollered, not waiting for a reply and making his way through the street.

Nitis put his right hand behind his back as he waved with the left. He knew his chance of getting injured around this guy was at a high ninety- nine point nine percent. He had lodged a kunai in his back, busted his nose, given him two black eyes, broken two fingers, and sprained his ankle. He knew he had never had so many injuries by one person before.

As for remembering, he was still working on that. He remembered those first few names and their voices, along with some fuzzy training. Ferra told him recently that his body might be what is regaining its memory, and that it might take his mind a little longer to catch up. Keru even gave him some advice even though the blonde recognized the feeling of being disliked greatly. He just assumed that Keru wanted him out as fast as possible.

The advice was that whenever he remembered something, like an item such as the balloon, the he should hold it or go to something similar and see if he remembers any more.

For now, all he could do was train and believe everything that he was being made to do. His weapons training with Tadashi everyday along with the weights he had given him have improved his ability to fight and with Ashton's Chakra and mental training he felt like he was really getting good at this ninja business.

"Hey Reno… not here to uh, break my arm today are you?" He muttered the last part as Reno walked up to him.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you." He said.

"I asked what you were up to today," the blonde fumbled out.

Reno stretched his arms. "I'm just heading over to Kalari's office. I'm leaving today for my special training." He shifted so Nitis could see his pack placed on his back.

Nitis lifted his head. "For medical training, right? You've got awesome chakra control I hear. So will you be learning medical ninjutsu?"

Reno nodded. "Yeah. I'll be learning with a small group, but they're already way ahead of me."

Nitis shrugged. "Well, You'll be the first Abyss Ninja trained outside the village and you'll be learning even more advanced stuff than that Gota guy, right?"

Reno nodded. "I guess. I won't see you guys for a while-"

__

'Yes!'

"-But it'll all be okay in the end."

"Yeah, you're right. Well, good luck and I'll see you when you get back." Nitis said, a large smile on his face. Reno walked past him and towards Kalari's office. He didn't hate the guy, in fact he really like him… as long as he was sitting down with nothing in his hands.

He let his hand relax that was holding a shuriken. It was just for safety measures.

He looked up at the sky as the breeze picked up slightly. It matched his bright cerulean blue eyes. There weren't any clouds in the sky yet, but he knew that they would appear later in the day. It was something he was told by Amaya.

He hadn't seen her in a while, almost two months to be exact. You see, that's when she was promoted to the rank of Chuunin. That's right. Amaya was already surpassing other's who had been genin for a year or two. Take Keru's group of misfits for example, they'd been Genin for over half a year now and yet they still hadn't been ranked up. He was wondering what they were like in a fight.

Another faint gust came, making his blonde hair dance in front of his eyes. He tried to push the orange headband up, but in was just making his head uncomfortable. He took it off and ran his gloved hands run through the locks. His bare fingers tugged down on one of his bangs and found that it was down past his eyes. Shrugging, he shook his head and put the Abyss headband back onto his head, readjusting it so that the hair didn't bother him.

His growling stomach made him aware of his situation… he was hungry and had no money on him. He doesn't get paid, unlike everyone else. It was his 'rent payment' for living here.

__

'Maybe I'll find someone with some money.'

He thought as he started on his way to a small restaurant that he went to often with Ferra, Lucas, and Hiro when Keru didn't attend their little group outing. He was hoping that one of them would be there.

Walking through the entrance, he was relieved to find Ferra waiting for her waitress. She spotted him and waved him over. "What are you up to? Scrounging for food again?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. I'll make Tadashi pay you back-"

"Nonsense." She said, waving her hand at him. "I love it when you come around. Besides, I like it when you come eat with me."

Nitis smiled. "Thanks. But I'm still making Tadashi pay you back. Then I can pay him back after I remember who I am."

She smirked. "Right, right. But I don't know if I want you to remember who you are anymore." She sighed, resting her head on her hand. Though, she straitened up when she noticed his wide eyed expression. "Aww… don't get the wrong idea. I do want you to remember, but it'll be sad because what if you live really far away and I never see you again? I'll be sad."

Nitis nodded. "Okay… I see what you were saying. If I live too far away, then maybe I won't leave."

"Really?"

"Maybe. I mean, who knows what my life was before. I might have lived somewhere really bad. Whenever I'm in a group or in a crowd I feel uneasy."

The waitress brought out their food. "Well then, Nitis… maybe I'll go with you and move into your village." She said as she munched on her meat bun. "I'll keep you safe."

Nitis smirked. "Yeah right. I think this is the only village that would let you in."

"Hey!" She tossed a piece of her food at him.

Nitis laughed as he blocked it with his chopsticks. "Come on now… you know I'm just messin' around."

The two walked back to Tadashi's house. They had nothing to do today. Nitis was finished with his mission and Ferra had the day off. When they walked in, Kanda greeted them. "There you are, Nitis. Ashton's in the living room if you want to see him."

"Ashton? Why's he here." Nitis asked.

"I guess that sister of mine said something to him again."

Nitis nodded. "Yeah, she told him to punch a tree." He said as he walked after Ferra. He heard Kanda mutter the words "a tree?"

"Hey Ashton! Can I play?" Ferra asked as she sat next to the moody teen.

He moved over a bit and made room for both the young teens. He had a popsicle stick placed tightly between his teeth. "Hey… aren't those my popsicles?" Nitis muttered, pointing to the stick.

He muttered something that sounded very similar to "Yeah… sorry."

He sat down next to Ferra and leaned back on the couch. "No problem.

The constant sound of buttons being pushed slowly put him into a daze as he stared up at the ceiling. He felt his eyes get heavy. Letting them close for a moment, he felt a wave of exhaustion hit him. Soon the small clicks of the game controller were gone, along with Ashton's groans as he lost multiple times.

"Ashton! Look who's back!" Tadashi's loud yell startled the slumbering blonde, causing him to jolt upright. Nitis looked over at Ferra, who hadn't paid any attention to the outburst. He felt someone appear on his other side, and when he looked, he recognized the dull blonde hair and the cold gray eyes of the man that Tadashi and Ashton had talked about. It was Seth Takasha, the man who had been the squad leader of their team. He turned his chilling eyes onto him and Nitis shivered a bit.

"Ashton, come out here so we can discuss something." He said calmly.

Ashton nodded and put the controller onto the cushion before he walked out. Ferra's teal eyes followed them out before reaching over, grabbing the controller, and them putting it into his hands. "Here. You can play with me." She said. Right before he was able to grasp it, however, she tore it away from his hand. "No! I have a better idea! Come with me!" She said as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him up and out of the house.

He sighed as he was being drug throughout the streets. He had no idea as to where she was taking him. He glanced down at his black sandals. They were concealing the odd weights wrapped around his ankles. Actually, the white tape wrapped around his ankles hid the weights as well, traveling halfway up his shins. He had the black weights under orange wrist bands but the black weights looked like thin, fingerless gloves.

As for his outfit, he was now wearing a green t-shirt with a blue squiggle mark on the back. He had black shorts and tied to his waist was a simple dark orange jacket for the nights that were chilly. Around his neck were the goggles that Kanda had given him in the winter. They were good for when the wind picked up since they lived in a partial dessert area which had bad droughts during the summer.

They stopped outside of town. She let go of his hand and turned to face him. "Let's have a sparring match! I've never seen you fight and this could be a good way for you to remember a few things!" She said happily as she took off her yellow and red jacket wrapped around her waist and tossed it on a large bolder. She had on a simple pair of tight crimson shorts, sleeveless shirt, black sandals thanks to seeing Nitis in his, and her headband wrapped around her neck loosely on an orange cloth.

"Wot? You seriously want to fight?" He asked.

"Yeah! Just a little for training, anyways." She smiled. "Ready? GO!"

Instead of jumping back like all the other opponents he'd gone up against in the past few months, she charged right at him. He wasn't used to this style even though it was very similar to his own. He jumped back as she pulled out her odd looking kunai. It was longer than most and around the base between the handle and the blade was a stray spike or small blade. Spinning it lightly on her index finger, she chased him until she got close enough to get up behind him. She wrapped her arm around his neck and wrapped one leg around his, causing him to stumble and fall over. His bright eyes opened and looked at the blade hovering next to his neck.

"Sorry, Nitis, looks like you're not at my level yet." She shrugged with a smug smile. He wiggled under her for a moment, causing her to look down only to see him smirking up at her. "What?" He disappeared. "Ah man! Weak!" _'He got me with his shadow clone!' _She looked around for him. There weren't too many trees in this area so chances of him hiding in one was very high. _'I can smoke him out.' _She thought as she threw small smoke bombs into the surrounding trees.

Like she expected, he dived out of the nearest tree and rolled on the ground before getting back up, a handful of shuriken in his grasp. "Here!" He yelled, letting a swarm of them fly towards her.

She pulled out another kunai and blocked most of them, but a few managed to knick her in the arms. Ignoring them, she ran forward and opened a scroll. A could of smoke appeared when she summoned her scythe and chain.

The chain came shooting out of the cloud and wrapped around the blonde. He felt the sharp ends digging into his forearms and chest as they tightened. He grabbed the sharp chain with his hands since the little spikes didn't affect the material but it was too tight. He released the jutsu and the clone disappeared again. He heard her let out a groan. He opened his eyes and smiled. He was glad that Tadashi had that scroll on this jutsu or he'd be struggling with using it properly. He new knew that whatever he learned as a clone it would come back to him.

She was going to catch him soon if he didn't think of something. The way he was watching her was the way Ashton had told him to do with opponents back when he was being trained by him. _'Understanding how your opponent works is one way to win a battle. The best way to utilize this is by sending in clones in your case and see how they attack you.'_He thought as he pulled out the scroll Tadashi had given him during training.

'So she attacks when she see me, and she uses weapons. If I think about it, she said she wanted to master every weapon a while back, so she's probably going to pull something out that she needs to train with. Her and Tadashi both work a lot with weapons. Well… so do I.'

Tadashi used a number of weapons and used them all very well. _'Listen, Nitis. Everyone always talks about Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu as your primary fighting styles as a ninja. But, what happens when your chakra is gone or can't be accessed?'_He thought as he opened the scroll and put a drop of blood from his arm onto it. A katana appeared in a poof of smoke. It wasn't anything special like the ones that Tadashi stored in his mess of a room. It had a basic silver blade, and small guard and the handle was wrapped in dark green grip cloth. The tail consisted of a few strands of the green cloth that were left since they didn't fit on the handle.

'I guess that's when you die.' Nitis replied.

Tadashi popped him in the head with the handle of his katana. 'WRONG! You need to be smarter than your enemies.'

'You mean you don't have to be strong?'

'Um… well, you should be strong too, but you should be able to perform in many situations. That's why I'm going to train you to be good with weapons.'

'Hehe… Nice. I've never needed to use this before outside of training.'

Ferra felt something change in the atmosphere. She recognized the change and sensed a weapon. Her blue green eyes widened as she felt the blonde's presence behind her. With a quick spin and a clash of metal against metal, she was able to block the katana that was coming down at her. Without breaking eye contact, she swung the chain up and wrapped it around the blade before tugging it down. She caught the guard and handle with the scythe blade and thought she had managed to get the weapon away from him, but he turned the handle in his hands and brought the blade down a bit more before pulling it out of the slackened chains. With a small kick to the backs of her knees and a small back flip, he was back to a face off with the mauve haired teen.

She put herself into a guarded position. One leg was stretched out while her other was bent up, the knee nearly touching her stomach and side. Her free hand was placed between her two legs, flat on the ground with a yellow flower crushed beneath it while her armed hand had a chain wrapped around it and was up by her face. Her breathing was fast and sweat dripped from her face. A quick smile appeared on her face. "Nice warm up."

He smiled as well. "Yeah. Are we done now?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I've got a new jutsu I've been working on. I need to try it on a real person." She stood up and dropped the scythe onto the ground, the chain slowing falling from her arm. The sharp ends had left a good amount of scratches on her arm. First she rubbed her hands together before she made a few hand signs and finished with her index and thumbs together making the shape of a diamond. She looked at him through the hole for a second before winking at him and blowing through it.

A massive set of flames came through. He'd never seen so many flames rushing at him before. They weren't colored normally, either. The flames licked at the air in the colors of white and yellow. Even a touch of violet could be seen from the flames by her hands. At the end, the column opened up to show off more of the violet flames.

When the fire disappeared, she looked at where he ended up. She guessed he created a clone and made the clone throw him out of danger's way. She fell back and sighed. "Well… it was fun."

He walked up to her as he patted the flame out on his wrist band. "Ferra… you are crazy." He said before joining her on the yellowing grass. "Now are we done?" He asked, his kunai up against her neck.

"Hm?" She looked down at the blade before laughing. "Hehe… yeah. You win. This just proves my point, though. You had to come from a ninja village."

He leaned back, putting his arms up under his head. "I think I did, too."

From a distance were three people watching. "See. I told you he was pretty good. And he just got down with a mission so he was already tired." Tadashi said.

Seth looked on at the two lying in the grass. "I won't deny his skill, but are you sure he'll be able to handle it? Especially when you two will be submitting your applications soon. Keeping up with you two when he's still a Genin, maybe a low level Chuunin?"

"We'll watch out for him! And we'll train him to be at our level." Tadashi said with a little begging in his voice.

"He's not a pet you can take care of-"

"But he's a ninja now, so he should experience these things too." Ashton replied.

Seth sighed. "I'll be teaching you two nature manipulation soon. Do you really, really think he'll be able to keep up?"

"Sensei, he's got this crazy determination that makes him succeed. He was able to climb up walls with his chakra right after he got out of the hospital. We've never done that before, and it took the two of us a few days before we had it down." Tadashi continued to rant.

"I still don't know."

"Okay Sensei, let's make a bet. If we can get him to wither learn a high level jutsu or be ranked up to Chuunin, you'll let him stay on our team-"

"and if you fail?"

"We'll let him go to a Genin squad." Ashton finished for his cousin.

Seth crossed his arms and put his head down a bit. Finally after a few moments of thought, he looked up. "Fine. But he first needs to go on a mission with someone else so that I know he some teamwork skills."

The two teens both let out a low "yes." When Seth was far enough away, they both let out excited, whispered "yes!"

Later that night at dinner, Keru brought something up. "I'll be gone for a while with those three Genin of mine. Kalari's sending us down to the southern border to check out how bad the heat is." He took a bite out of his meal then looked up at Nitis.

The boy knew that the man didn't care for him, so he made sure not to be rude to him…ever. "Yes?" Well… most of the time.

His green eyes narrowed at him. "Kalari is making me take you with us while Ashton and Tadashi get their mound of paperwork taken care of."

Nitis looked over to Tadashi. "Really?"

He flipped his bangs out of the way. "Yeah. I just found out from Seth. I didn't know the application would take so long. This'll give you some experience anyways. You know… working with others and adapting. It'll be go for you."

"Oh, ok."

Kanda looked across the table at her husband. "You'll take care of him, then?"

Keru made a face. "I guess since I'll be the Jonin there."

The blue haired woman shrugged. "I'm just asking. We _are _in charge of making sure he's well taken care of, dear." She said with narrow eye

He waved her mental waves of warning away. "Yeah yeah."

She rolled her eyes before looking over to the blonde. "You promise you'll take care, okay. You never know when another rouge will show up." She said sternly.

"U-uhmm… yeah. I know. Don't worry, Kanda… I'll be okay." He replied. His food was about half way up to his mouth before he put it back down and just stared at his plate. _'How could I forget… I can't believe I forgot!' _

"Nitis? What's the matter, dear?" Kanda asked with a touch of worry.

"I… I just remembered something." He looked up with a big grin. "Reno left today!" He yelled, standing up and pumping the air with his fists. "I won't have to needlessly go to the hospital again due to him for a long time!"

Tadashi started to laugh uncontrollably.

* * *

It was early morning when the five got together. Nitis and Keru were the first to show up at the south exit. Hiro showed up about twenty minutes after the sun came up and the last two dragged themselves there after another thirty minutes of waiting. Nitis had practically been dragged there or else he would have been the last one.

"Hey Keru… Um, Sensei-"

"You don't have to call me that if you don't want. They do, but not you." He replied as he watched Ferra and Lucas slowly make their way over. "Well, why did we show up first? And so early too. Don't the leaders usually show up last?"

Keru glanced down at him. "Not that I know of. I always get here first, second a few times."

"Oh."

"Why?"

"It's nothing. It just felt funny being here first." He replied.

After Keru checked Ferra, Lucas, and Hiro's gear, he said they could depart. He hadn't checked Nitis's since Tadashi helped him get ready the night before. When he watched the two interact, it reminded him of two brothers getting along. Even thought Kanda, Tadashi, and that stupid dog of his like the blonde, there was just something that unsettled his stomach. It bugged him to the point of disliking the child, but he promised Kanda and Kalari both that he'd watch him. He still hadn't forgotten what happened to his nephew when Ashton tried to get into his mind. There was more to the boy than he knew.

Nitis readjusted the pack on his back and started to follow the tired group of Genins. He knew that in the next two hours they'd be awake and lively, fighting would erupt between Ferra and Lucas like it always did between the two at Keru's house.

The light morning breeze felt nice against his skin, but he also recognized that they might run into some rain up ahead. He wasn't quite as adept as Amaya at telling how much they might get, but he could feel it in the air. Rain was on the way.

He looked back over his shoulder as they walked farther away and spotted a group of four people walking through town. Three were very tall, but there was a shorter one with black hair that was put up on one side. She had on purple shorts with white trim on the bottoms, a tight white shirt with short sleeves almost to the point of being a tank top with a large orange Abyss symbol on the back.

He smirked at her. _'I thought you were all about non flashy cloths, Amaya.'_

**Yay... It's been a while, ne? Well... Like I said before, I had to take a break so that I could get through the end of Highschool (yay for the graduate!) and luckily, I made it into IUPUI! I start my summerschool on monday TT.TT Three weeks, four days a week... of math. XP So being away from my writing most of the time made it very hard to get back into it.**

**Then two weeks ago The residants of Indiana, Idaho(I think) Illinois... I'm sorry I don't know the others, but the midwest had some serious flooding going on. I've never been through something so horrifing and mentally straining. My entire house was surrounded by water, it was like a houseboat, only this one didn't float away. My garage was flooded and most of the things in there were lost. My town was completely under water so I'm happy that I didn't get as bad as others, I just lost a few of my outdoor pets that didn't make it in the flood. So I'm still getting over the shock. ;.;**

**Finaly. I know alot of things are happening in the Narutoverse, but I don't care. I have everything outlined and have all my info set, I just have to get it here on the internet. I sigh again. But thank you guys for reading this. It makes me happy.**

**_Blackblaze _**


	13. Just an Argument

**The only move is forward**

**Training Arc**

Just an Argument

Kalari leaned back, lifting her bare feet and placing them lightly on the top of her desk. Sighing, she thought about the recent letter that she received from the head of the village that she sent Reno to. It was their agreement, hers and the other leader. As long as she kept her part of the deal, the leader promised to teach the Chuunin the best medical ninjutsu and promise that he would be at Jonin rank by the time he came back.

Her foot moved slightly as she thought about it. He would be the first, true, medical ninja in the country of Void. Of course, the surgeons and doctors in this country were still really good, and Gota seemed to have a little experience with medical ninjutsu, but only the very basic and he was unwilling to teach anyone the little of what he knew.

"Where's that troublesome man at?" She wondered as she looked at the clock. She had the papers for her son and nephew out and ready to fill out. They'd be doing it with eight other Chuunin. She was glad that so many Chuunin were going to be evaluated this time. It was known that even though the country of Abyss was small and was strong, there weren't that many ninja in the country. In total, they may have fifty or sixty at most, and that was with the young probationary ninja included.

"Kalari?" The familiar blonde hair of Seth came into view over her feet.

"There you are." She sat up and grabbed the papers for Tadashi and Ashton, looked over them once more, then handed them to the blonde. Taking them, he nodded and turned to leave. "Just a minute, Seth."

"Hmm?" He turned his head, his cool steel eyes staring into her navy blue orbs.

She narrowed her eyes and made sure that her eyes told him the message that he needed after her next comment. "I have a mission for you. It's the highest ranked mission I can give you."

Seth looked a little startled. "A suicide mission?!"

She shrugged. "Okay, maybe not that high, but the fact still remains that death is a very high possibility. But that's why I've chosen you to take care of it. Come back later and I'll tell you everything about this mission."

His stomach felt unsettled, so he simply nodded and walked away. Once the door was shut the both of them grinned, unknowing to the other.

* * *

The sun was really starting to bake on the back of a already tan blonde ninja. Sweat was pouring off his face and his cloths were sticking to his back. He even had to untie his headband and put it around his neck in a similar fashion to how Hiro, Lucas, and Ferra all usually wore theirs.

Actually, they were all in their summer gear. Lucas had long since grown out of the white hoodie he had been wearing when they first met and was now wearing a white tank top wit a black stripe with a thin orange ling in the middle across his chest, Baggy tan shorts that fell right below his knees, and black, ankle boots with vent slits on the sides. He had white wrist bands on and finally his headband, which had taken a new home on a triangular bright orange cloth around his neck. But for today so that his head wouldn't fry, he had it covering his head, his olive green, wavy hair stuck out at the edges and stayed plastered to his sweat soaked face.

Ferra was in her tight red shorts and red sleeveless shirt. Her headband was now replaced with a cloth that stayed tight on her throat with the metal Abyss plate attached. Her favorite golden yellow and red trimmed jacket was no longer on her waist, but was now being used as a source for shade.

And Hiro was now wearing baggy navy blue shorts that stopped right at the tops of his knees. His shirt now consisted of a pale blue tank top with his clan's symbol hidden on his back by a cerulean blue vest that had a few different pockets with, at the moment, unknown items. His headband was loosely tied around his neck on an orange cloth.

Keru was wearing simple tan pants with black boots and a pale green t-shirt. His hair had recently been cut by his wife even though he had protested for a good two hours. The other two male residents from that household also got their hair cut last night as well.

Nitis, remembering the attempted escape from getting their hair cut the night before. Tadashi had flipped over the kitchen table to try and create a distraction and Keru brought in Caleb, but it seemed like Kanda was more than ready for her boys' reaction and had set up something so that they couldn't get away. Keru ended up getting just short of a buzz cut while Tadashi ended up with wild hair barely an inch long that really didn't look much different than before… he just couldn't hide his eyes anymore.

He didn't mind, in all reality, he liked it short while it was hot out. He did, however, wish that Kanda could cut evenly. His bangs were still slightly long and so they tended to get in his way, not to mention they were sticking to his forehead. He slipped his hand into the kunai holster on his right leg and pulled the blade out. He reached out and grabbed the longest piece and sliced it off.

"Nitis! What are you doing?!" Ferra yelled from her place next to Lucas. She jogged up to him.

"What does it look like? He's whacking off all those extra chucks. Couldn't you tell that he got a mower on his head recently-"

"That's my wife you're bad mouthing, Lucas." Keru cut in from the front.

"Tsk." Lucas threw his hands behind his head. "Well, the truth hurts." The Jonin simply shook his head and continued to walk.

Ferra glared at Lucas for a moment. "Well, at least don't do it while you're walking. Wait until we take a break and I'll do it for you." She said, trying to take the kunai out of his hand.

He pulled his hand back. "It's fine. I don't want my hair glued to my face. I can do it."

She ignored him and got on her tiptoes and tried to reach the blade he was trying to keep away from her. "Don't… be… so … stubborn… Nitis."

"Ferra! Don't be a pest. Get away from him." Lucas called from his place behind them. He wasn't stupid. The path that blade was going to take if it got knocked out of it's holder's hand was right at him. Irritated at the girl like always, he stomped up to the two that were currently wrestling.

Soon all four teens were stopped and wrestling, nobody on a specific team. Two ended up with a black eye, one with a cut on their cheek, and another with a thin line of blood trailing down from the corner of his mouth.

Nitis had accidentally bitten his cheek so hard that he was bleeding a good amount and didn't realize he had been bleeding, so it spilled over his lips and dripped onto Hiro's dark left eye. Ferra's right eye was bruised as well and she spotted the red liquid from Lucas's cheek smeared on her hand.

Lucas pulled away from the group, dragging Ferra back with him. "Alright." He sighed, picking himself off the ground and making sure to leave the spunky girl there on her butt. "Now that we've stopped, give me your kunai, Nitis… I'll lop off those pieces for you." He said, holding out his hand.

"Hey! I said I'd do it!" Ferra yelled from her place on the ground.

"You might as well let him, Ferra. He cuts his hair by himself all the time. You tried to cut my hair once, remember." Hiro reminded her. It had been terrible. She lopped his short ponytail right off on their first mission together.

She stuck out her tongue and crossed her arms. "Whatever." She tried to ignore the blonde locks falling to the ground, but she found it difficult. She wasn't that bad. "Keru Sensei… Um…" She stood up, looking around for the brunette. His five o'clock shadow face nowhere to be seen. "Uh oh. Guys… Sensei's wandered off."

Lucas had just finished evening out the gold hair when he looked up quickly, slicing his finger in the process. He was unaware of it and accidentally let the blood drip into Nitis's hair.

The four darted forward but quickly ended up standing at a fork in their path. The four glanced at each other and then stared, eyes simple now from their clueless ness. Without thinking the two loudest of the group pointed down the opposite trail yelling "This way!"

Ferra and Lucas spun around and came face to face with each other. "What are you talking about! We should go this way!" Ferra called, her teal eyes flashing.

Lucas's violet eyes flashed with just as much power as the mauve haired girl standing mere inches away from him. "Not a chance! We go left! Left is sure to take us father South!"

"They always do this, don't they. It's not just me being here, is it." Nitis muttered to Hiro.

"You're right." He replied.

"We're not Tracking Ninja-" The blonde continued.

Hiro sighed. "And the truth is Keru didn't tell us any more than that. That we were headed south. We don't even know what our mission was or what level it is." The three genin from Keru's squad did a group sigh.

"I bet he doesn't even know we're gone." Ferra whined.

"Surely not. How could he not notice your and Lucas's big mouths." Hiro replied coldly.

The truth was the man in question hadn't noticed that his students were gone. He was so used to drowning out their petty fights that the loss in noise hadn't done a thing to him. Unfortunately, he had taken the wrong path due to his leisurely walking.

"We've never gotten split up before. What'll we do?" Ferra whined.

Nitis focused on the ground as he thought. He remembered getting split up during his time on his escort mission with Amaya, Tadashi, and Ashton. Of course, it had turned out that Tadashi and Ashton found them, and he had been the one to tell Tadashi to leave in the first place, but this was different. There wasn't the threat of a blizzard coming in or any injuries or damage. They hadn't been in too much of a hurry either.

"Let's split up." He said. He knew what their objective was and he knew where they were supposed to go. But without Keru they were still in some trouble.

The three Genin looked at him as if they didn't understand the meaning of the words.

He stared back at them for a moment. Then he said, "come on. If we split up we can cover more ground and find Keru faster."

"But what if we run into a rouge ninja? They're always running through the southern parts of Void." Hiro said. "Two measly Genin against one high ranked Chuunin or worse would be the end for us."

Something about the way he said that irked the blonde. "Training in the village won't prepare you completely for what's beyond the safety of Abyss's walls."

"I'd rather not take the chance, Nitis. You may have been on higher missions than us because of Ashton and Tadashi, but you're not under their protection anymore. You're with us. Three. Ordinary. Genin."

"Then-" Nitis decided to tell them what their mission was.

"Nitis, we just need to look for Keru. That's all." Hiro replied, his voice clearly expressing how irritated he was.

Nitis felt a pain in his chest and his stomach twisted. He'd never gotten into a fight before, and he would have never guessed that he'd get into one with Hiro. He turned and started to walk down the left path. "Fine. Take the other path for all I care. I'm going this way. It won't make a difference since I'm not originally on this squad anyways. Just pretend I never was here and watch out for rain." He started to run down the path.

He quickly jumped off the path and slid down a small hill of dirt before landing in a patch of faded green grass. He curled his body and rolled the rest of the way down until he had stopped and was staring up at the blue sky. There were a few white clouds in the sky, but the scent of water in the sky alerted him that rain was coming, along with the cool breeze. How much, he couldn't say, but he could clearly tell when rain was coming now, thanks to Amaya. Surely a little rain would help the already dried out plants.

* * *

Ferra and Hiro stood at the fork. Lucas had spouted something off to them before chasing after the blonde, saying something about Hiro not making it any easier and that he'll catch up with them later with Nitis.

Ferra grabbed Hiro's wrist and pulled him down the other path. After walking in silence for a few minutes, Ferra finally spoke up. "Hiro, that wasn't very like you."

He looked down, his eyes shadowed by his bright red bangs.

"You didn't even give him a chance to explain about his plan and you jumped to point out all the bad things. Try to remember that he's still trying to recover his memory-"

"Ferra, what are the chances of someone with no memory to become so good of a ninja in such a short time."

She narrowed her eyes. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that there's no way! He's got to be a spy or something. You remember what happened when Ashton tried to break into his mind when he first arrived, right? We overheard that conversation. Ashton was put into the hospital because Nitis had something blocking his mind. Like a _barrier _to keep people out."

The loud crack of skin making contact with skin startled the nearby birds out of their trees and set them to flight. "You have no right to say that, Hiroshi."

"…" His head was turned to the side form the impact.

She glared at him. "I know you always come up with the plans when we're in group training, but we're supposed to be able to adapt." He looked at her. "That's apart of training as well. It's just as new to him as it is to you, Hiro, so let's follow them so you can apologize."

__

'Maybe she's right… I was out of line…'

He thought. "Okay, but we won't follow them. We'll stay on this path and search for Keru Sensei."

She smiled softly and nodded. "You know… Nitis sorta said that we can't be watched and protected forever… and you threw out that Tadashi and Ashton weren't there to protect him, so I think you made a hypocritical remark back there."

* * *

"I know he jumped off the path back there…. And he slid down this hill… now where is he- Ow!" Something with a number of sharp edges had slashed across his face, digging deep scratches and causing dark drops of blood to ooze from the injuries. He lashed out at the violent looking plant and tore it out of the ground. "Take that you mean son of a bitch." He growled as something buzzed in his face.

It was well known that Lucas Makoto had a very thinly stretched patience. In fact, many wondered why he hadn't up and killed Ferra by all the fights they got into on a daily basis. It was irritating but he managed to get through each and every argument without too much injury. In truth, it had been his mother that taught him to never hit girls. He wouldn't really classify Ferra as a girl, and small scuffles didn't count in his opinion. He wasn't excited for the first time he had to fight a female ninja.

The buzzing had continued. His eye twitched a little. -Buzz…. Buzz…. Buzz- Crack!-

He pulled his hand down in front of his face and opened his hand to see a mix of goo and hard shell in his hand. It had been a very obnoxious beetle. "Not anymore." He muttered as he wiped the bug's crushed body onto his tan shorts. It left a long, dark colored streak on his pants but he didn't care. In his opinion, it was just a dead bug, nothing horrific.

"Now… Nitis. Where did you run off to." He muttered. He stepped out onto a grassy patch and noticed the trail made by another human body. _'At least I'm on the right track.,' _He thought as he started to follow the path. He knew that Nitis couldn't have gotten too far ahead of him so he started to jog to see if he could catch up.

fifteen minutes later and he hadn't come across a clue as to where the memory-less boy was. "How'd he get so far ahead of me?!" He yelled out to nobody in general. It was only when he walked around a corner and spotted the fairly large creek flowing nearby. He was walking up stream.

"Damn it!" He yelled, spinning on his heels and running in the other direction.

* * *

Nitis was almost to the nearest town. He had gotten back on the trail after a few minutes of walking through the trees. Their objective was to find a lost dog and return it to it's owner. The bad thing was that, like Hiro had said earlier, Rouges usually run amuck down at the southern border. The only thing he knew was that the dog was a big one and it's name was Kiro. The other bad thing was Nitis didn't know what town he was supposed to go to.

His chest felt so heavy. He thought he was getting to be good friends with everyone who he saw on a regular basis. But this feeling of suddenly being alone… felt so familiar. He spotted a log off the trail a bit under a heavily shaded area and decided to take a break. Once he sat down, he said to himself, "so much for teamwork…"

He leaned back with his arms behind his head. Not getting his usual amount of sleep, his eyelids felt heavy. The breeze was starting to cool his hot, sweaty body down to the point where a small shiver ran down his spine.

A sudden crack caused his blue eyes to pop open. He quickly sat up and looked around. The air was heavy and he could smell a large amount of water coming his way and fast. A small whimper made him look a little deeper in the trees. Lying in patch of high yellow grass was a big, dark brown dog with white legs and a white underbelly. He wouldn't have seen it if it hadn't been for the dog lifting its dark head up as he walked closer to the whining.

"Hey there, buddy. What's the matter?" He got a little closer and spotted a few dark spots of dried blood leading up to him. "Oh man… are you the lost dog we're looking for, guy? Kiro?" The dog lifted its head and let its large, fluffy tail thump slowly on the ground. He looked around and noticed that there was a large limb lying on the dog's back paw. He tried to lift it, but it just barely moved. '_I need someone really strong to help, like… who am I thinking of…' _He thought. He knew someone was very powerful… but things were still missing from his mind so their name was still gone. He couldn't think of their face, either, but he kept thinking of a bad habit and the necklace that currently resided with him.

"Hey, Kiro. I'm going to go get help, so stay here… I guess you really can't go anywhere, can ya?"

He turned and rushed out of the trees only to run into someone who had their hand shielding his eyes from the pelting rain. They both landed in the mud with an unhappy plop.

Nitis tried to rub the mud out of his eyes, but he was only making it worse. The small grains of wet dirt were scratching his eyes and making them water.

"Nitis?! Good, I finally caught up with you." Lucas said loudly to try and talk over the rain.

Nitis reached out to try and find him due to his temporary blindness, and was a bit relieved when Lucas's hands found his and he moved his arms under his to lift him up. "T-thanks."

"No problem." He could see that the blonde… or brunette now thanks to the mud, was in distress. "What's up with you?"

"I found the mission objective-"

"Huh? But Keru didn't tell us what our mission was."

"He told me last night during dinner. Hiro just never gave me the chance to tell you. Ahg… I… I can't see." He groaned. He tried to wipe his eyes again but he couldn't stand the scratching feeling that caused his eyes to drain his tear supply.

The green and brown haired boy slapped away Nitit's hand. Thanks to the mud in his hair as well, his hair now looks like a mint and chocolate candy cane. "Knock it off! You'll just make it worse. Now what or where is our mission objective?"

Lucas released the muddy blonde's arms. "We're supposed to retrieve a lost dog and return it to its hometown which was somewhere around here I think. But I found the dog that fit's the description. He's stuck under a large branch and I can't move it without help."

"Oh, alright. Let's go."

"Wait! How do you know where he is?"

"Easy… It's in the direction where you ran out and we collided, right?"

"Oh, yeah."

The two started to walk into the wooded area where the dog was stuck when Lucas heard a small crash behind him. "What the-?"

Nitis had fallen on a small limb. He pushed himself up, his face covered in another layer of mud. Lucas smirked as he looked at the blonde and was reminded of a chocolate figure that the sweet shop used to sell when he was little. Of course, he felt a little bad when Nitis spit out a mouthful of mud and grass.

He helped him up again and this time he kept a firm grip on his wrist so that he could lead Nitis through the trees. He told him when a hazard would show up so Nitis could avoid it. Soon they were at the place where the lost dog was located. The chocolate and white dog lifted its head and waged its tail as they walked up to him.

"I see what you mean. If you would have rolled it, you would have ended up smashing his leg." He placed Nitis on one side and he hopped over to the other side. "Ready? One. Two. Three. Lift!" They both heaved up the massive branch and the large dog quickly got out from under it. "Ok… drop!" They released it and each took a step back.

The dog licked Nitis's muddy hand, startling him. He put his hand on the dark fur and said, "You're welcome."

Lucas sighed. "Well, now that we're lost, lets just head to the nearest town and get your face cleaned up. The creek's all muddy from the rain so it wouldn't be a good idea to wash your eyes out in it."

"'Kay."

They traveled at a medium jog. Lucas was leading Nitis by holding onto his wrist, and the dog was trotting along side with a small limp in his step. If it hadn't been for Nitis's temporary blindness, they could have traveled under the trees to avoid getting soaked, but it was too much of a hassle to deal with trying to slowly guide the blonde over the mutant sized weeds and brush.

Nitis felt the temperature drop slightly. "There's a big gust coming." He called up over the rain.

"A what?!" Lucas called back, not clearly hearing what he had said.

"A gust! A big gust of wind-!" And it did. It pushed them to the side of the trail. The only thing that kept them from falling over was a tree.

"Damn! You weren't kidding when you said to watch out for rain! I didn't think we were going to run into such a nasty storm!"

"What?!" Nitis called. The wind was roaring by at amazing speeds.

"Never mind!" The dog was looking up at the two expectantly. "What is it?"

"Ruff!" The dog barked.

"Do you know the way to your home?" the dog let out another bark and his tail started wagging as he turned to point to the direction they were headed in.

The town couldn't have been too far, so Lucas let go of Nitis's wrist and untied his headband from around his neck. He nearly had to scream just so Nitis could hear him ask to borrow his headband. He tied his own around Kiro's neck, then tied the second one to create a collar and least. Then he took Nitis's goggles from the blonde's neck and put them on his own face since Nitis couldn't see and the rain was slowly washing away the mud from his face. He then pointed out into the pounding rain and said, "lead the way, pooch!"

It was about fifteen minutes of attempted running through the wind before they came to another fork in the road. This time they took the right and traveled for another ten minutes before the town came into view.

It could barely even be called a town since it was so small. It was more like a tiny village in the green haired Genin's opinion. The rain was coming in waves now, so he would get a moment to see farther than his nose. And during one of those moments, he spotted a small building with a wooden sign that read 'Pharmacy.' _'Perfect.' _He thought as he dragged the blonde behind him.

But Kiro wanted to keep moving past the pharmacy, causing Lucas to pull on the rigged up leash. "Hold up, pooch. We've gotta get out of this storm." But the dog sat down and whined.

He shook his head and hurriedly opened the door, a small bell sounded as the door opened, and pushed Nitis through the door frame and the jerked an tugged until Kiro was inside as well. Now in a bad mood, the dog simply sat in a slumped state next to the door.

"Hello?" A man said, entering the small waiting room. He was a tall, tan man with short, wavy brown hair and a few freckles on his cheeks. His hazel eyes analyzed the boys and the dog. "Well well, if it isn't Kiro. We've been looking all over the place for you, boy." He said to the dog.

Kiro let out a small snort and plopped down onto the wooded floor, small puddles starting to form from the water dripping off his coat.

"So… is this your dog?" Lucas asked.

"Hell no. That's old man Kiboku's dog. He lives down the road-"

"Oh my! You boys are soaking wet! Kagu, why didn't you get them some towels." A young woman said, disappearing just as soon as she came into view. When she reappeared, she had a arm full of towels. She had shoulder length sandy blonde hair and warm gray eyes.

"I'm sorry about him. My husband was supposed to tell me when a patient came in." She said as she put the towel over Lucas's head and told him to dry off. "Don't want you guys getting sick. What's this?"

She had gotten a good look at Nitis's face now that she was a mere ten inches away. "What's the matter?" She put her hand on his face, startling him a bit.

"Ah… it's nothing. I've just got a little mud in my eyes."

"Mud… you could be damaging your eyes! Here, take my hand and follow me. Kagu…" She said as she grabbed a hold of Nitis's hand. "Take care of the other boy please. Get him warmed up so that he doesn't catch a cold. You know Abyss Ninja get treated for free here."

The man scoffed but followed his wife's instructions. As Nitis was led out of the room, he could hear the man and Lucas arguing in the background. "Take your cloths off."

"What?! Get outta here. That's not gonna happen-"

"Just do it. I'll hang your cloths to dry."

"No way-!"

The woman laughed and led him into another room before closing the door. But even then, the voices of the other two still managed to mumble their way through the walls.

"Haha. Okay, could you do me a favor and take off as much of those soaking wet cloths off as possible. Just keep your boxers on."

He felt a little uncomfortable about taking all those cloths off in front of a woman.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm a doctor. This isn't just a pharmacy, sweety. My husband is the pharmacist's son, that's why I'm here."

"Oh… Okay, I guess." He still felt a little squeamish.

After he piled his soggy cloths onto the floor, he was led to a chair where he sat down in. "Okay… now don't be startled but I'm going to clean all the remaining mud from around your eyes." He nodded and felt the warm cloth against his skin. "Try not to move your eyes until I can help, 'kay?"

"Okay." His eyes had been swimming a lot and were tearing up even more.

"Normally… tears will clean out any intruders, but you may have bits of rock grains in there scratching the surface of your eyes. If your not careful, your could damage more that just the surface."

"Oh." He was a little afraid to move. Plus with all his skin being exposed like this, it made him nervous. It was a nervous that he hadn't felt before and it bugged him.

"Alright. I'm going to open your right eye first. Try not to flinch." She was about to lift his eyelid when she stopped and took her hand away. "Whoops! I almost forget my tools. Hold tight sweety and I'll be right back."

She returned soon, and when she lifted his first eyelid, he realized why he felt so nervous. There weren't just two people in the room… there were three. Him, her, and her unborn child. "Your…"

"Ah, you noticed? I guessed you wouldn't if you couldn't see." She laughed. She was so sweet, and she was careful when she started to clean under his eyelid. After a few minutes, she was done. She wrapped up his eyes and told him that he'd have to keep them closed for a day or two. "Don't want to chance it."

Something soft was draped over his shoulders. "Wha-?" He gripped the edges of it and figured out that it was a blanket.

"So, what's your name?" She asked as she put a towel over his head and started to dry his hair. "I'm Uteka."

"Nitis."

"That's a cute name. Well, you and your friend…"

"Lucas."

"Lucas. You two will stay here until I get your cloths dry and the storm is over." She finished as she led him out to where Lucas and Kagu were still wrestling to get the Genin's cloths off.

"Kagu! If Lucas doesn't want to dry off then leave him alone." Uteka said as she led Nitis to a seat.

Lucas, not seeing his temporary teammate wearing only his boxers. "Well… if Nitis can tolerate stripping down to the basic necessities… I guess I can too." He muttered as he pulled off his shorts and tossed them next to his shirt that had been forcibly removed. After Kagu was forced to pick up his soggy cloths, He took a seat next to Nitis and that began their wait for the storm to end.

* * *

Earlier, before the storm hit, Ferra and Hiro were quickly making their way down the path that the two had taken.

"Do you think we're getting close?" Ferra asked.

Hiro squinted his bright golden eyes and tried to focus on a figure that was making its way towards them. "Yeah… I think that's Keru!"

"Sensei!" Ferra yelled, waving her hands in the air as the three slowed to a stop right before they collided. "Where the heck have you been?" She asked. "Shouldn't have we caught up with you in about five minutes?"

The man turned his head. "I noticed you were gone a little while ago… but-"

"You ran in the wrong direction?" Hiro said.

The man smacked Hiro in the head. "Shut up."

"Sensei! Why does your direction suck so much?!" Ferra yelled.

The man looked over them. "Well… anyways, where's Lucas and Nitis?" The two Genin glanced at each other. "What?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

"Hiro wouldn't let Nitis explain his plan so Nitis ran off somewhere. Luc followed him but we don't know where they ended up."

Keru gave them a confused look. "Why didn't the four of you just head to the village that we have to report to?"

His Genin stared blankly at him. Finally, Hiro asked, "What village… _Sensei_, were we supposed to report to?"

Keru lifted an eyebrown at his student. "I told you three this morning, didn't I?"

"NO!" They yelled. For Hiro not to have heard him say it… meant he hadn't said it.

"Ah… Then, I apoloy hectic for me gize. But Nitis knew. I told the little punk last night before he packed his bag. He should have told you if I didn't." Ferra glared at Hiro but didn't say anything.

The area suddenly became dark. When a raindrop landed on Ferra's cheek, she looked up. "Hey look! It's raining!" She said excitedly.

"So. That just causes problems for us." Hiro said. Keru nodded at his student's words.

"I didn't know he could read the weather." She said.

"He can't. Ashton and Tadashi can't either and that's who he's learning off of." Keru replied.

"But remember what Nitis said?" She said to Hiro. "He said to watch out for rain! He's pretty talented." She said with a big smile right before they were covered with a blanket of ice cold rain.

**A/N**: I deeply apologize for my absence. Ironic how I didn't update until I started college (Yay I got into Iupui!) Summer was actually pretty hectic for me but I'm not going to put it in here because that's why I created my livejournal. :) Here's a prevewi of the next chapter (yeah... I got some of it done XD)

* * *

A massive cracking sound echoed over the hills. It sounded like a lightning bolt just came down next to his ear. "What the hell was that?!" Luc nearly yelled. He twisted his head looking for the cause of the massive noise, but he couldn't seem to find its source.

Nitis grabbed onto Luc's hand and tugged down on it. "Shh!… Listen." He pointed to his left. Somewhere in that direction, something was breaking. The cracking wasn't quite as loud as the first, but it was almost going in a continuous stream. "Let's go see what it is."

"Yeah." Lucas pulled the blonde through a rough patch of trees for a while until they nearly stepped off a massive cliff. "Whoa!" He grabbed Nitis around the chest so that he didn't run off the ledge.

"What is it? I hear water."

"Yeah. This must be the Main Stream."

"Is it a steam, then?" Nitis asked.

"Naw, it's the biggest river in Void Country. It's not a steam at all. I never understood why they named it that. The stream I ran into before I found you was a branch of this river." He looked down the river a bit as its path was directed at a downward climb. "Oh shit."

Nitis was tired of not being able to see so he pulled off the bandages.. The dim, grey light gave him just enough sight that he could see why the cracking had continued. The water was spilling over the dam at an alarming rate. Nitis's eyes started to sting a little, but he could see that this wasn't good.

Lucas ran down the hill a little until the path was blocked by rushing water that was spilling over the dam. Following closely, they both took to the trees about ten yards away from the rushing waters just to be safe.

They stopped in a large tree and hopped to the top branches. Lucas felt his blood run cold. "Oh god." The dam was cracking. They could see what had made that horrid noise earlier. The dam had a massive crack right down the middle.

There was a few small buildings down in the near valley that they could see. "Looks like someone's clan's down there. We've got to alert them or they'll all drown." Lucas said, his voice betraying his face's fear.

* * *

**A/N** Oh yeah, after I'm going to have fun during the next few chapters because Nitis and the others are going to be learning some... interesting jutsu :)


	14. Reinforcements

****

The only move is forward

__

Training Arc

Reinforcements

* * *

Outside the small clinic and pharmacy, the storm had started to lighten up. Of course, the blonde couldn't tell for the simple fact that his eyes were both wrapped up. He could hear that the pounding had slowed down a great deal, the thunder was now only a small rumble in the distance, and the wind sounded as if it had completely stopped.

The blonde sat up from his makeshift bed that the pregnant woman and her husband had made for them while they waited out the storm. Who knew that it would rage all through the day and through to the next morning? He laid his hand onto the side of Kiro, the dog they would be returning once Lucas woke up and they thanked Kagu and Uteka for their hospitality. He leaned back down and cuddled into the big dog's back.

The last roll of thunder died out. He had listened to the end of the storm for its final twenty minutes when Lucas's voice carried though the dark room. "Nitis, you ready?"

"Yeah."

"We should probably get going. I'll leave them a note thanking them and I'll get our things ready. You wait there with that-." He didn't finish his sentence, but Nitis had a pretty good idea that he was making some sort of crud gesture with his hands. Probably an irritated strangling motion since, for some reason, Kiro didn't seem to like Lucas, and the same came in the reverse. The pooch did however, like Nitis.

After they got up and ready, the walked out the door and into the dark, morning air. The sun might just be coming up, but it was still a cloudy day so it was almost pitch black. That didn't change the way that Nitis had to travel until later that day when Uteka said he could remove the bandages.

"Kito, lets get you home. Take us to your home, boy." Nitis said.

He could hear the dog run off into the distance. The light tug on his long sleeve from his jacket he was now wearing since the air was chilly was his only way to know which direction they were headed.

Kiro stopped and scratched at a door. He nudged it a bit before running around to the back where he slipped through a hole in the wooden fence and laid down in a dog house with a wooden slab with _Kiro _carved into its dark wood.

"Good. Stay in there you rotten animal."

"He's home?" Nitis asked.

"Yeah. He's relaxing back in his doghouse-" A massive cracking sound echoed over the hills. It sounded like a lightning bolt just came down next to his ear. "What the hell was that?!" Luc nearly yelled. He twisted his head looking for the cause of the massive noise, but he couldn't seem to find its source.

Nitis grabbed onto Luc's hand and tugged down on it. "Shh!… Listen." He pointed to his left. Somewhere in that direction, something was breaking. The cracking wasn't quite as loud as the first, but it was almost going in a continuous stream. "Let's go see what it is."

"Yeah." Lucas pulled the blonde through a rough patch of trees for a while until they nearly stepped off a massive cliff. "Whoa!" He grabbed Nitis around the chest so that he didn't run off the ledge.

"What is it? I hear water."

"Yeah. This must be the Main Stream."

"Is it a stream, then?" Nitis asked.

"Naw, it's the biggest river in Void Country. It's not a steam at all. I never understood why they named it that. The stream I ran into before I found you was a branch of this river." He looked down the river a bit as its path was directed at a downward climb. "Oh shit."

Nitis was tired of not being able to see so he pulled off the bandages.. The dim, grey light gave him just enough sight that he could see why the cracking had continued. The water was spilling over the dam at an alarming rate. Nitis's eyes started to sting a little, but he could see that this wasn't good.

Lucas ran down the hill a little until the path was blocked by rushing water that was spilling over the dam. Following closely, they both took to the trees about ten yards away from the rushing waters just to be safe.

They stopped in a large tree and hopped to the top branches. Lucas felt his blood run cold. "Oh god." The dam was cracking. They could see what had made that horrid noise earlier. The dam had a massive crack right down the middle.

There was a few small buildings down in the near valley that they could see. "Looks like someone's clan's down there. We've got to alert them or they'll all drown." Lucas said, his voice betraying his face.

The two boys rushed through the trees down into the valley. The dam could still be heard cracking from the little valley, so luckily by the time they got there, the people of this clan were awake and looking around for the noise.

Lucas startled them when he called for their attention from the top of one of the buildings. "Listen! The dam's about to break! It's got massive cracks in it and water's spilling over the top like crazy!"

The people looked panicked, but their clan leader told everyone to grab their most precious belongings and to run up into the hills.

A young girl maybe a year younger than the two boys was crying as she carried her book filled with precious pictures. "Mama… What about Miri? She lives at the base of the waterfall!"

Nitis looked down the river to see what she was talking about. He could see where the river disappeared and assumed that was where the waterfall was. He glanced over to Lucas, who was helping the eldest man to get to safety.

Lucas had made sure the clan was safely up the hill as far as they needed to go. The only way it'd flood in this area was if the ocean covered the entire continent. Just to be on the safe side, he made them travel all the way back to the town that he and Nitis stayed in. It was far enough up river that it wouldn't flood.

He wiped the sweat form his face, glad that the clan had only been a near fourty people and nothing more. Their role call had been short and easy. "I feel a little better, don't you, Nitis?" He said, assuming the blonde was behind him. To his horror… he was not. "God damn it." He growled out as he raced back to where he had last seen him. In fact, when he returned to the clan's empty housings, he knew the blonde had overheard that girl and was now in the most dangerous area.

It was lucky for him that the town that he stayed at the night before and the one at the bottom of the waterfall were actually the same town, just different parts that were about a twenty minute walk. He panted as he looked down at the town. It was flooded badly already, but people were aware of the situation and were moving as fast as possible to get out of their homes and to somewhere safe. Others were banging on every available door to wake others up from the flooding.

The scene could only be described in one word…

Panic.

And who wouldn't? After a flood destroys your home, what can you do besides start over? Lucas shook his head to clear his thoughts. He knew that clueless kid was around here somewhere.

__

'Where are you, Nitis?'

He thought as he looked around. After hopping from a couple rooftops, he found him. He was holding a small boy and had a girl about five years younger than himself latched onto his back, trudging though knee deep water. He quickly dropped down in front of him and grabbed the front of his shirt.

"What the hell's the matter with you?! Running off like that in this kind of situation!"

He had a serious look on his face. "Luc, nobody heard the dam break here. I woke a few people up and then they woke the others. There's a safe spot somewhere in that direction and that's where everyone is headed."

Lucas sighed, placing his hand over his face. He could tell that Nitis was strained by holding the four-year-old child in his arms and having the girl nearly choke him. He snatched the young boy out of his arms. "Fine. Lets hurry up, that dam isn't going to last much longer. The water started to come through faster while I was running down here."

"Got it."

The two kids' parents soon caught up with them and the six started to make their way up the steep incline where the lower part of town's safety area was.

"Miri?! Where are you?" A woman cried out. She was looking through the crowd, but her daughter was missing.

Lucas knew what was coming, but he knew what had to be done so he handed the little boy to his mother and Nitis put the young girl on the ground. The two looked at each other, violet eyes locking with cerulean. A small nod was shared between them and they rushed back into the flooding village.

They could hear her crying when they started to get closer to the deepest area of the flooded town where windows of first floor buildings were almost hidden under the rushing water.

They stopped on a roof and looked around anxiously. "Where is she?" Lucas huffed.

Nitis shook his head. "I don't see her anywhere. What's her name… Kiri?" Lucas nodded. "KIRI! WHERE ARE YOU!" He yelled.

Lucas couldn't believe the lungs that Nitis now had. He remembered when he could barely talk higher than a raspy whisper.

"H-help!" She yelled. She was stuck inside the house they were standing on. The two Genin looked over the edge.

"How are we going to get in there?" Nitis asked.

"I'm not for sending you in there, but I can handle the safety equipment so you won't float away." He said as he pulled out a thick rope. "Unfourtunatly, I only have one harness."

"Kiri can have it once I get in there. Here." He took the harness and put it on after handing his jacket to Lucas. After it was fastened to the rope, Nitis slowly put himself in the water. The current was almost too fast to swim against, so Lucas pulled him over to the window.

He put his foot against the glass, slowly putting pressure on it. He peered inside to see the girl standing on her bed. She was holding a small book. The item was probably the reason she snuck back to her house.

A loud, heart-stopping sound that rivaled an explosion could be heard. Then the earth around them started to shake.

"NITIS! THE DAM BROKE! HURRY UP!" Lucas screamed down at him. He kicked the window in and was swept into the room. He pulled the little girl of the now wet bed and quickly put the harness on her as he could hear the roar of the rushing water headed right for them. He tugged on the rope and the girl was dragged out of the room and onto the roof.

"Get out of here!" The blonde yelled as he stuck his head out the window.

"But-"

"I'll be fine! I'll just end up in a tree somewhere! GO!"

Lucas picked the girl up and darted off the roof right as the water started to increase, its speed picking up as it came over the falls.

Nitis tried to pull himself out, but the current had already swept him out into the middle of the river. He felt his arms getting tired so he stopped tried to fight the current and let it take him down with the current. Once the village was almost out of sight, A huge, unbelievably sized wave raged over the falls and smashed into the water below. The water he had just been in was practically calm compared to what just shoved him about twenty feet below the surface.

Without air, he started to panic. He rushed up to the surface and just barely managed to get a small gulp of air before being forced back under. He could feel his head starting to spin and his already blurry eyesight because even worse.

* * *

Ashton and Tadashi yawned as they sat with a group of Chuunin as they started on their second part of their task. It wasn't so much of a big deal, but Kalari had this thing about early morning meeting and so here they were… standing in two rows, waiting for their name to be called so they could have their rank signed off so they could all become Jonin. Their Jonin leaders had to be present as well to sign the document.

As Ashton and Tadashi waited with Seth, Tadashi leaned over to his cousin and whispered, "You know, this would be a lot more lively if Reno were with us. You know… someone might have gotten injured and we could have been forced to do some moving around."

Ashton snickered. "I get ya- Ow!" He was smacked in the back of the head by Seth, who soon gave the talkative brunette a good whap as well. The boys looked up to see Kalari staring at them with an irritated glare. Of course, this gave the other Chuunin soon to be Jonin something small to smirk at.

After a few more painful minutes, Kalari stood up. "Congratulations to you all. I am proud to say that you have all officially been ranked as Jonin from the Hidden Abyss Village."

The teens all gave each other high fives and let out happy yells of relief to have this morning event over with. Kalari gave a small smile as she looked at her son as he started talking to a few other newly appointed Jonin. He wasn't too much like his late father, but she could see her husband standing out in her son. His white hair was something that was passed down to him, but it was the shape of his eyes that reminded her so much of her deceased love. She could tell he had her personality, though. They way they clashed all the time… the one person she had fought with more than his father was herself.

Footsteps running down the hall made every pair of eyes move towards the door. A young woman ran in, panting as if she had just run a marathon. She straitened up and looked into Kalari's navy eyes. "Madam, both the dams on the Main Steam have fail."

The head of the village sat up a bit. "What did you say?"

"The strongest part of that storm cruised right over the dams and dumped a huge amount of precipitation over the lands. The message I got from Keru Jindari said that raging winds were steady for most of the night and he thinks that a tornado or two came through and weakened the first dam. The first dam couldn't hold all the water draining from the mountains and busted. Then, the power from the rushing water blasted through the already weak second dam. The lower part of that village was completely annihilated. We're unsure if anyone survived. That's what Keru reported."

Kalari stood up. "How was the message sent? By bird or scroll?"

"Scroll, madam." The scroll message system was a new system that the Abyss had created a few years back. It was not to be used unless it was an emergency, and she felt that this qualified.

"Fine. Everyone, get your gear now and meet back here in twenty minutes. We're heading south." She instructed.

Unlike the leisurely pace that Keru had taken, Kalari led the group of Jonin herself at a fast pace. She had sent Seth ahead since he was the fastest known person in the village.

It was starting to get hot again, but Tadashi loved the heat. He loved to sweat because he knew that either the breeze would cool him down, or a nice jump into a creek would refresh him. Since the message his father sent them had been informing Kalari about a flood, he wore his blue and white swimming trunks since they never got any use anyway, a sleeveless white shirt, sandals that he had bought after seeing Nitis wear them, his headband and a pack with gear in it. Kalari had said this was a relief mission only and chances were that there would be a lot of bodies to recover. It made him sick just thinking about.

When they got to the lower part of the town, Tadashi couldn't believe how much water was down there. Usually, a flash flood would drain down a little. If it had been draining, he couldn't even imagine how high it had been earlier. From what he could tell, the houses were completely under water.

Some of the towns people were gathering around the group of ninja. Many were just waking up and making their way down to see the damage. Some were crying because some of their family had been down there.

Kalari looked around. "Where's that brother-in-law?" She muttered. Keru was nowhere to be seen.

A man who had been there since morning walked up to her. "Are you looking for someone?" He asked.

"Ah, yes. Some of my subordinates were supposed to have already been here. Would you happen to know where any of them might be?"

"Well… Two of them are over there." He said, pointing over to two figures on a tree branch completely surrounded by water.

She squinted her eyes to try and see why they were. "Ah… those are… Kati and Akara, right?"

Tadashi nodded. "Yeah."

"Go talk to them and find out where the others are. Ashton, go up to the higher part of town and find Seth."

"Right!" They both replied before breaking up from the group of Jonin. As Ashton ran up the path, Tadashi took to trying to find a path down to the water. There wasn't any way to get down there, so he wondered how those two had got down to their spot high up on the tree branch. Finally, he slipped on accident and slid down a muddy slope until he made a crash landing into the water. Tadashi was not the most graceful ninja, and his landing proved it. He stood up in the foot high water, his body covered completely in mud.

After clearing his face off with a little water, he got a look at where the two Genin were. He pulled his feet out of the mud, making a suction noise as each one came loose. Luckily, he knew how to walk on water since he didn't have to swim. It was usually taught late in their Genin to early Chuunin time. Of course, they never thought of putting that skill to use with walls and trees and that's why when Nitis just walked up the wall one day, it startled them. There weren't any walls or sharp inclines that the skill was needed, so they just learned the water exercise.

He walked ontop of the water and looked up at the two teens. Ferra was sitting on the branch, her legs swinging and her eyes staring out at the now calm mass of water. Hiro was sitting as well, but he was leaning against the base of the tree. As he looked closer, they were both covered in mud as well. And Tadashi knew for a fact that they didn't know how to walk on water yet because his father was talking about it at dinner one night. It made him wonder how they got over to this area with all the water. Either they swam over… or Hiro pulled a stunt with his kekkei genkai because the tree was the only one around for a good thirty feet.

"Hey!" He called up to them. They weren't very responsive. In fact, they didn't respond at all. He decided to get up in the tree with them. Slowly, he put one foot on the tree. He had to use less chakra with the tree, but he made his way up and hopped onto the branch. "Yo." He said.

The two jumped, startled. "Who are you?" Ferra asked.

"Wha-? What are you talking about?"

Hiro squinted his eyes a bit. The sun was in his eyes and this fool was caked in mud. "I think… it's Tadashi, Ferra."

She tilted her head up a bit. "Oh. Hi, Tadashi."

"What's with the attitude?" He asked. He could just feel that they weren't in a good mood. "Where's dad and the rest of you squad?"

Ferra glanced down at the water. "Um, well…I know Seth Sensei showed up a while ago and then went up to the part of the village that didn't get flooded. Keru Sensei told the two of us to wait up on the cliff, but I slipped and we fell in. We swam over but the water's gone down since then."

Tadashi looked down at the calm surface. "How long have you been up here?"

"About two hours." Hiro replied. "The sun was just coming up when we got here and sent the message to you guys."

"Hm. "So where's Nitis and Lucas." He knew instantly that he'd said something wrong. "What?"

"That's where your dad is now… Looking for those two." Hiro said in a eerily calm voice.

The brunette shivered despite the heat. "What?"

"We got separated yesterday before the storm. Then we waited it out in the next town over and when we got here, we found out that they were out right before the dam broke." Ferra filled in.

Tadashi looked around. "So… Lucas and Nitis are missing."

"Correct." They both said.

He sighed. "And what about this town here?"

"It's gone."

"What?!"

"The pressure from the water completely destroyed the town here. This tree is the only thing left 'cause all the houses got blasted away." She said.

Tadashi looked around in disbelief. This tree was the only one for a good hundred yards in the other direction. He couldn't believe that _every house _got taken out. But the more he looked around, the more he started to believe.

"We can walk back, see? You can see the ground now." She said as she pointed to the ground. It was true. You could see the ground."

He picked Ferra up. "Well, you guys can't walk on water yet so I'll carry you back-"

"That's okay." Hiro stated. "Just carry Ferra back. I can make the water dense enough to walk over for myself."

"Alright." He hopped down and jogged back over to the muddy hill. "Now how are we going to get up." He wondered out loud.

"Leave that to me." Hiro said as he moved his hand, causing the water around them to form into a nice foot wide stream up the muddy slope. "Go ahead and walk up it."

"Alright." Tadashi slowly walked up the water path. It felt odd, and it was difficult to do since he wasn't just staying above the water, but had to cling to the thicker water as well like if he was climbing a tree. He mentally thanked Nitis.

When he reached the other Jonin and put Ferra back onto her own feet, his aunt asked the Genin what the situation was. Tadashi could see that even though they weren't physically tired, they were mentally worn out from worrying about their friends. Tadashi started to report what they had told him.

After hearing what had happened, she sighed. "So Keru said for you two to stay here?"

"Yes Ma'am." They both replied.

"Fine. I'm over riding his order. I'll have you escorted to the undamaged part of the village. Get cleaned up a bit. I'll let Tadashi take you there."

"Alright."

As the two started to wearily make their way up the hill, she pulled on Tadashi's sleeve to stop him. "Get those two to eat something too. Washed and fed then brought back here. If you see Ashton… sen him back down here. Same with Seth."

"Got it."

As the three entered the undamaged village, a little girl walked out holding a small book. "Um… Can you help me?" She asked. "My family and the rest of the old people won't move from their spots until a ninja comes to instruct them. Please!" She said. He had felt someone trailing them but he didn't know who it could have been since they weren't very sneaky.

"Um, well-"

"It's okay Tadashi. Me and Hiro can get cleaned up on our own."

"Well… Once you get cleaned up eat something. I'll be back soon. Hopefully."

As they walked into the village, Tadashi walked with the young girl. Her knuckles were white from clutching the small booklet in her hands for so long. "So who's back here in the woods cutie?" He asked kindly. He liked making little kids smile.

"Um, well, two people woke us up this morning and got us out of our houses before the big wave came. I was even stuck in my house and a nice boy came and got me out."

Tadashi was getting a little curious. "So where are you from again?"

"Um… The lower village next to the Main Stream. I saw it go completely under water. It was lucky those boys save me or I would have died. That's why the green haired boy said."

"You mean Lucas?! Are you telling me everyone from the lower part of this village survived the flood?!"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"So what happened to the boys!" He said in a louder voice. He clearly startled the girl because her big brown eyes became wide with shock. "Oh, I'm sorry. But I need to know what happened to those two. They're friends of mine." He said in a calmer tone.

"I get it. Well the blonde boy didn't get out of the water before the big wave. The green haired boy took me off to the tree line and we watched the wave tear down all our houses. Then he took me to the others and told us to not go back to the village because it would be too dangerous. But everyone thinks we need to stay far away."

"So the blonde boy got swept away? And is the green haired boy still with the others?"

She shook her head. "No. He left right after he was sure the water wouldn't reach us. I think he went to find his friend."

Tadashi nodded. This had him worried because that meant Nitis could be anywhere and the same with Lucas. When they finally reached the people, he couldn't believe how many people were there. Children were running around, playing tag and house while the adults and elders sat around with serious expressions covering their faces. Some of them looked up when he came tromping in, covered in mud with the young girl.

One stood up and walked over to him. "Are you hear to tell us what's left of our homes?" He said somberly.

Tadashi scratched his face a bit. "Um… I guess I'll have to. You're homes are completely gone. There's only about a foot of water left and there's nothing but a tree left where the rushing water hit. I'm sorry." He said when many faces dropped. "But listen. You guys need to go up to the higher portion of the village because everyone things that you're all dead."

"What happened to that brave little boy with the blonde hair! Did that other child ever find him?!" A woman called, holding a young boy. "If it wasn't for him then we'd all be dead."

The people started to circle around him, asking questions. Tadashi put his hands up. "Wait a second, please. All I can do for you right now is take you up to the other part of the village-"

"Are you telling me they only sent one of you from Abyss?!" A woman yelled.

"No- Wait-!"

"Always only sending one or two. I guess if we're lucky then we'll get the basic three or four squad of Genin or Chuunin." Another person said angrily.

"Don't be so mean! There's a bunch of ninja back where our village was!" the little girl yelled.

Tadashi knew they didn't believe her. "It's true. In fact, we got the message this morning when we were getting our papers signed to become official Jonin by our leader. There's about 15 Jonin that are down at the site along with Abyss's leader. They're waiting for news from the other two Jonin that were here and assessing the damage. Now if you would, please come with me and we'll get some help for you." This sort of work was too stressful for him. This was more of a job for Ashton than himself since his could be more stern with others than he could.

The aura of total shock filled all those running around in the upper part of the village when he got back with the suspected dead villagers. Many couldn't believe their eyes when their friends and relatives came walking up the path after being presumed dead since early this morning. Some started to cry. The little girl ran up to another young girl and they both hugged each other before they slid to the ground and started their sob fest.

A pregnant woman walked up to him. He was taller than her so he had to look down to see her face. "You must be Tadashi. Please come with me." She grabbed his muddy arm and pulled him towards the clinic. "I met with the others from your village and I've instructed them to get cleaned."

"Oh, thanks." He said. She walked him through her building, his mud caked feet causing a large cleaning job for someone.

Lucas was sitting in a chair wearing a pair of sweats that were a little too big for him and a very baggy shirt. Right when the woman's husband came in carrying a tray with a few cups and some tea, a door opened from his left and out walked Ferra, clean but only wearing a tight gear bra and pair of oddly colored underwear.

All the boys blushed and looked away and the young woman rushed forward. "Ferra! You have to have a little modesty!"

"Why? Just pretend I'm wearing a bathing suit. Besides, I have an extra shirt in my pack that I left out here." She muttered as she pasted the woman and went outside to get her pack. Tadashi closed his eyes when he heard a woman shriek outside. Ferra waltzed right back in only this time she had a spaghetti strap shirt on, but still no pants.

He quickly washed up and put on the cloths that was given to him and returned right back out into the main room. The atmosphere was strange. Once he got a cup of tea and a few bit sized sandwiches, he sat down and made sure not to look at Ferra. In fact, the only ones who weren't affected was the pregnant lady, who couldn't help but stare at the young girl for behaving in such an odd way, and Ferra herself… for not caring.

"Ferra! This is rediculus. Get some pants on." Hiroshi finally said, glaring at his teammate.

"Vry?" this was Ferra saying "why?" with her mouth full.

"Because everyone feels awkward with you dressed like a hussy."

"WHAT! Say that again!" She stood up, getting ready to punch him.

He stood up as well, challenging her. "Nobody wants to see a near naked girl just wandering around town! Look! Tadashi can't even look you in the face because he's so embarrassed! Hell I'm embarrassed to even know you!"

"Says the one who wouldn't listen to Nitis! He wouldn't be missing if you had just listened to him in the first place!"

"Guys, guys! Calm _down_!" Tadashi said, standing between the feuding teens. "Are you sure you're not Lucas trapped in Hiroshi's body? Because that's what you're acting like." He said. Unfortunately, his words went unheard. His eyes became engulfed in shadows and his mouth tightened.

* * *

Kalari instructed the Jonin to search the area and see if they could find anything ranging from survivors, bodies, hell even parts of houses. She was expecting the worse after finding out that the water was almost all gone and there wasn't anything there but mud and a tree and so far, not a single body had been found.

Movement was easily caught in the corner of her eye. She was glad to see her son and nephew headed towards her with the two Genin from Keru's squad and Seth.

"So what have you found out?"

Seth shook his head lightly, releasing an odd chuckle. "You're not going to believe this, Kalari."

She arched an eyebrow. "I won't, huh? Try me."

After he explained everything that he had acquired from the you Jonin and two Genin, the woman's mouth was hanging open. "I can't believe this."

"I told you." Seth said with a smirk.

She glared at him and punched him in the arm. "Shut up. So are you telling me that the unwanted foster son of Keru and Makoto basically single handedly successfully evacuated this portion of the village and not one person died?"

"That's what I said isn't it?" Seth replied.

"You're quite the smart ass today, aren't you." She said to him. He shrugged. She looked down at the now clean Genin. "So you guys got separated from Keru, right? That means he's somewhere with Makoto and Nitis, right? Wha- What happened to you two?" She asked the two Genin. They both had terrified looks on their faces.

The two Genin shook their heads quickly. "Um… w-well actually…" Ferra stuttered.

"W-we became separated yesterday before the storm. We were with Keru until this morning and-…"

She tapped her foot impatiently. "Well."

They flinched, making Tadashi feel a little bad for terrifying them so horribly. "Aunt Kalari… the truth is that I know what happened more then they do. Nitis and Lucas went to rescue a little girl who was trapped in her house and in the process Nitis was dragged away by the current and the massive wave that completely wiped out the houses here. Lucas did a role call after the villagers were out of danger and then told them to stay away from here because of the dangers. After that Lucas left the group and nobody has seen either of them since."

The area became quiet. He hadn't told Ferra and Hiro about what he had found out. The woman that had helped them out earlier had informed him about talking to Keru about the boys and what they did for the small clan between the upper part and lower part of the village. His father must have easily put two and two together and went to look for them.

Seth looked Kalari in the eyes. "What now?"

She looked around. "We have to look for those two… but we also have to help the villagers. Seth, Ashton, Tadashi. Call everyone back here."

"Right!"

She looked at the two Genin who hadn't known as much as Tadashi had. "Don't worry. We know Lucas is fine, and Nitis seems to have an unnatural amount of luck. He's not dead." Once all her Jonin were circled around her, she released the new plan.

She looked around. She had ninteen able Jonin to work with and two Genin. Not to mention Keru, who was out searching for two other Genin. In total, she was working with twenty-two accessible ninja. The numbers were good for assisting in what she had in mind.

"Alright listen up! I've some good news and bad news. The good news is that, miraculously, there were no villagers from the town that died!" Many of the ninja smiled, and those who didn't, smirked. Unlike many villages, where ninja were told to completely shut off emotions or at least be able to keep them surprised for certain situations, the Abyss ninja were nothing like that. They were trained to finish the mission at all costs. If it worked, then fine. There was nothing in small print for them and they were mostly all friendly, even if the grater amount were decedents of evil ninja. When someone died, they cried, and when good news came to them, then instead of only responding with a nod, then smiled, threw their fists into the air and hollered with glee. "And secondly, there will be work for you guys to do for a good while as you rebuild this area while I sit in my office drinking some sweet fruit punch! Yay for us, right?!" She said happily, throwing her arms in the air like a kid. This started a chain of groans and mumbles and the occasional mumble of "Genin work."

Her face changed, though. "But the bad news…" Everyone went silent. "We have two missing Genin who managed to save that village. One is alive one hundred percent, but the other one's situation is unknown. He was taken down river and both are missing. Keru Jindari is already looking for them. So… We'll be splitting up."

"Alright, here's the lineup. Phoebe, you and your two will be with Tadashi and Ashton. Along with them, I'll send Miro's full squad. The rest of you will stay here."

"Ma'am, what'll you be doing?"

She smirked. "I'll be on the tracking team of course. And with Keru already out there, it'll be an even eleven each. Seth's in charge of the rest of you guys here. If anything comes up, he'll come find me." She looked around. "Alright… Let's go!"

* * *

Hanging loosely onto a tree, his body swaying with each small wave that pushed into him, Nitis clung onto the tree until he could gather enough strength to pull himself out. He was holding onto a tree in a heavily flooded valley. His thought was that the water would go down soon, so all he had to do was hold on. The problem, however, was that he had absolutely no energy to even keep his eyes open, let alone keep his grip and keep his head above the water. He could feel himself loosing consciousness… again.

__

'This is ridiculous. I don't think I should loose this much energy in such a short amount of time. I must be missing something.'

He thought to himself.

Something moved above him. He tried to focus on the reflection of the shadow, but his arms had taken as much as they could and he started to sink. He felt strong hands grab him around his arms and easily pulled him out.

He tried to see the person's face, but his vision failed him and his head flopped loosely to the side. The only thing he remembered was bright blue eyes.

**A/N: I know... Whoa, 2 updates so close together! It's imposible. But I did say that when I get into school I just want to write alot. lets see now... here's a little spoiler but its bland. Nitis will pick up something from someone that will help him in an upcoming tournament.**


	15. Another step closer

**The only move is forward**

_**Training** **Arc**_

_Another step closer_

* * *

Uhg…" Nitis moaned as he leaned up, placing his hand on his throbbing temple. He looked around to see where he was.

Trees. And lots of them. He couldn't think strait at the moment so that's all that came to mind. His eyes were sore and still very heavy.

"Ah, you're awake!" A male voice said from behind. Nitis stretched his neck back to look at who was behind him.

It was a young man a little older that Tadashi, with dull red hair and brown eyes. "I didn't think you'd wake up for another day or so. I was just going to leave you and let the beasts have you." Nitis cocked his head a bit at the odd way the man spoke to him. He shook his head. "Can't take a joke, can ya kid?"

"Where am I?" Nitis muttered hoarsely.

"The typical question, eh?" The young man replied.

Nitis rolled his eyes. '_This guy's a loon. I better get away as fast as I can.'_

The man handed him a bottle of water. "I bet you're thirsty." He scuffled around a bit. "And here. This fell off you." Nitis almost choked on his water when he recognized his necklace in the man's hand.

He snatched it, but then said thank you to the man. "No problem. It's just luck that I happened to see it fall. You should keep something like that on a better chain than just a ratty old string. Oh, I got it!" He scuffled around in his little pack until he pulled out a black cylinder with a cap on it. "Here. You can use this." He said as he tossed the little capsule at him.

Nitis caught it and opened it. Inside was a black cord. He pulled it out, and when he did the cord shimmered bright silver as the sun hit it. He was mesmerized by the two colors flashing back and forth. "What is this?"

"That? It's an alloy supposedly made with the blood of an ancient beast. Apparently, the blood of the beast is what gives it such an odd shine."

Nitis stared at it. "Then why give it to me? You just met me, you saved me… I should be doing something for you, not the other way around."

The man gave him an odd look. "I didn't save you from anything. You were just lying against a tree around here. You looked tired and completely worn out so I decided to help you. Is there something suspicious about wanting to help someone nowadays?"

Nitis blushed a bit with embarrassment. "Ah… No, I guess not. But I was stuck in the river and then I remember someone pulling me out. I just assumed it was you."

The man shook his head. "Sorry. It wasn't me."

Nitis closed his eyes in thought. "Come to think of it… the person had blue eyes…"

"Hmm? Well, I have green."

Nitis tilted his head slightly. "No you don't."

The man turned and looked at the blonde. "Yeah I do. See." He pulled down on one of his bottom eye lids.

Nitis restrained the urge to poke him in the eye. "Look, I'm telling you they're not! I can see it clearly and they're brown! Are you stupid or what?"

"Meh, what do you know. You're probably color blind."

"Yeah? Well you're definitely stupid." He replied.

The man walked over to him and bent down. "Listen up, I'm being nice to you and all you've got to say are mean things like that? Get up. I'm going to beat some sense into you."

"Eh? But-"

"You started it, kid." The man replied. His taunting made Nitis push himself up and lunge at him. "Heh, it'll take more than a floppy little kid to even touch me."

He jumped up into the tree when Nitis rushed forward and tried to hit him with his right hand. "Time out." He called, making the universal time out signal.

Nitis looked up, irritated at the man. "Would you make up your mind. First you want to talk, then fight, now we're timed out?"

"I know I know. Sorry. But I noticed something odd and wanted to know about it. It's about how you hold your hands when you would come at me."

Nitis put his hands in front of his face. "What about them?"

The man jumped down. "It's just… this is what you were doing." He said as he mimicked the blonde's movement when he was about to hit him. His right hand was facing palm up by his waist while his left hand had been facing downwards and hovering close to the other hand. "I just thought that when you were going for a thrust… that was an odd form."

"You got all that by me taking three steps?" Nitis asked. He was suspicious of the man before him.

"Well yeah. I don't normally see such an odd style in fighting. I just want to know why you do that."

Nitis narrowed his eyes at the man. "What do you want? No normal person would care about this and you clearly just wanted to see that and not fight."

'_Damn this kid is sharp. I thought he was supposed to be an airhead!' _"Alright… I'm here to help you with your fighting style. Kalari sent me, but then you got swept down the river so I came to look for you. That's the truth."

Nitis relaxed a bit. "Then… why didn't you say that the first time? Don't go creeping around the subject like that."

"S-sorry. It's just how I do things. Now… the way you held your hands earlier… it's clear that you're not going in for a normal thrust, but something more. Why don't you try to apply some chakra to your right hand and make it spin?"

"Spin? How can someone do that-?" Pictures of a man holding a swirling ball of chakra appeared in his mind.

'_Rotation… Power… Containment.'_

His hands started to move on their own. The movements were odd, but it didn't feel new.

XxX

Naruto felt a familiar tingling sensation in his hand and stopped his training to bring out the viewing mirror that the God of Life had given him. Feeling it come out of his body had gotten a lot less odd now that he'd done it a few times, but it still gave him the creeps.

He looked into the window that gave him a view of his body and watched as it tried to attempt something using both his right and left hand. He smiled. "Check it out… I'm remembering the Rasengan."

A young man with brown hair and green eyes walked over and glanced in from over the blonde's head. "Eh? How'd you know to see what your body was doing?"

Naruto shrugged. "I felt something in my right hand. It's the center of the attack formation."

"But right now you don't have a connection to your body. The memory chord my father talked about was cut and is within the Death God's possession, remember. So how'd you feel it?" Haru asked.

The blonde shrugged. "Maybe there's something else that connects me to my body besides the memory chord." Naruto tried to remember everything that cranky old man had told him about reconnecting to his body. "Like… maybe my… soul is trying to connect with my spirit and I felt it?"

"Like a calling?" Haru asked.

"I guess. I'm still confused about all this other worldly business I'm stuck in."

Haru smiled. He was convinced that this was his sister's son. Tarsa had been stubborn and wasn't too fond of learning about all the spiritual lingo as well as the rest of the family. The only one who had ever really understood it was his youngest brother Naruto, the man this young boy was named after. "Alright… let's get back to training. You'll never get your chord back if you keep finding excuses to stop training."

"Right." Naruto huffed. He was grateful that this man was helping him, but he was being drilled by all three of the brown haired Uzumaki at different intervals. Haru was the only one who let him have a break.

Haru could tell that in the past couple months that they had spent together, the boy had continued to grow. He was slightly taller and his hair had gotten longer. He had never seen a spirit grow without a host before; of course, he'd never seen a situation quite like Naruto's as well. "Alright, come at me!"

XxX

Nitis's eyes glowed from the small, spinning sphere in his palm. He looked on in awe at the familiar orb. "This… I remember this."

The brown, yet self proclaimed green eyed man nodded. "So it seems. Well… I guess you're well enough to be on your own. See ya!" He said with a small movement above from his hand at eyebrow level.

Nitis let the sphere disappear as he turned to see where the man went. "Wait-! Eh, whatever. Who needs him." He started the movement back up and added chakra to his palms. The sphere glowed with power. "What's you name… I can't remember that." He said to the orb. Falling backwards, he plopped down on the semi dry ground. He was trying to remember anything else.

Closing his eyes, he tried to pull out anymore pictures from his mind. He could see faces. Blurry faces, but faces none the less. And even a few voices. A picture of a grassy area with a stream nearby came into view.

XxX

Naruto scrunched up his face.

"What's with the face, kid?" Haru asked.

Naruto put his hand up to his head. "My head… it's throbbing. And I can see my old training grounds where my team met for our first assignment."

"Maybe your body is forcing access to your memories."

"But… the chain was broke."

"Like you said, maybe there's something more. And your memories weren't taken from you; your spirit was just released from your body. They're still intact."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah… I wish he… I… we?" He wasn't sure how to address this. "My body… I wish it wouldn't try to remember. It hurts my head."

"Then I bet your body is feeling it, too."

XxX

Nitis let the chakra in his hand disperse so he could clutch his head. He arched his back and he gripped his short, dirty locks. "Ahh!" He yelled. The pain was intense. He'd never felt such pain from just trying to remember something. Tears streamed down his cheeks and he tightly bit his bottom lip until it started to bleed. The blood spread onto his tongue, tasting like iron. Soon, the fit ended similar to the way one would relax after getting a Charlie horse in their leg. All his muscles relaxed and he lay, spread eagle on the ground.

Panting, he muttered to himself, "N-no… no more remembering for me. Not for a while."

He stared up at the sky. It was beautiful with its vibrant blue shade. It amazed him how something so terrible like that storm could look this good in such a short time later. "I guess after something so terrible… anything looks better-"

"Something like that." A voice said from behind. He turned his head and looked to see who had stumbled across him. He looked up at the sky as well, his body just as filthy as the blonde's. "I think… that when something terrible happens, we truly see how the world is meant to be seen. We never pay attention to it any other time, but after such an event, you can sit back and enjoy it every once in a while."

Nitis smiled. "How'd you find me, Luc?"

He walked over and plopped down next to him. "It was difficult since I don't have any tracking ability. I just happened to come across a set of foot prints and followed them. I'm glad you didn't die."

He sounded so much different when he spoke like this, and it was the first time Nitis noticed it. He reminded him of someone… Although he drew a blank, the green haired boy was someone who didn't really like to use his abilities even though he was very talented. It was obvious that he was very clever.

"I didn't know you were such a down to earth guy." Nitis said.

"Ah, well… I always am, but when you're in this village for a long enough time, the others get to you and you're drawn in. Besides, that stuff I just said… my mother said something like that to me a long time ago, before we moved to Void country."

This interested Nitis much more than his throbbing temple. "You haven't always lived here? But I thought that to be a ninja in a village you had to born into it."

He shook his head. "That's not the case here in the Abyss. This country was created by the exiled and rouges who wanted to start over again. Of course, not everyone was a bad person, they just wanted to start somewhere fresh. Like with me and my parents. They didn't agree with the Raikage and left the village after some attempt was made against a clan from another village. I was four when they made the attempt, but we didn't leave until I was six due to planning. We traveled and ended up here and that's where they decided to live."

"So… your parents are-"

"We'd be considered traitors and if we were found we'd be killed, yeah."

Nitis shook his head. The people in the Abyss village were deeper than he thought. They're not just a bunch of odd balls.

"Well… we'd better get back-" He toppled over right after he stood up.

"Lucas!" Nitis pushed himself off the ground and scrambled over to him. "What's wrong?" He asked. He hadn't noticed before, but He didn't have his shirt on and was burnt badly from the sun. Traveling by the river and having the sun reflected up at him probably doubled the problem. He was breathing heavily as well. The blonde didn't know what was wrong besides being severely sun burnt.

"I… think I'm… having a heat stroke." He huffed.

"So what should I do?!" He started to freak out. He couldn't let Lucas die because of him.

"I need some shade… I've over heated myself."

Nitis looked around. This place was in the trees, but it was still pretty bright. His body still hurt terribly, but he was going to carry Lucas somewhere since he had looked all morning for him. Before he did, however, he took his shirt off and helped Lucas put it on.

"There. This way you won't get burnt anymore." He said to Lucas.

Once he was on his back, Nitis started to trek through the trees. He didn't want to go towards the river because water has a high reflectivity rate and it would only burn the two boys more.

It didn't take too long before he found a heavily shaded area of trees to put Lucas under. He told the teen to hold tight and that he'd try and find some water.

"What do you plan to carry it in, genius?" Lucas said. Nitis, smiled. That was more like the Luc that he knew.

"I'll think of something."

"Here." He tossed the blonde a small wooden cylinder. It was just big enough to carry about a cup of water. And luck would have it, there was a clear stream about a hundred yards away. The first thing he did was get some water for Lucas. After trekking back and forth a few times, he was finally able to just soak his body in the shallow stream. It was slightly cooled water, just enough to give his body a break from the heat.

Lucas's body had calmed down and seemed to be okay when Nitis returned. He placed the cup full of water next to Lucas and lie down on his stomach beside him. The only way to get back to where they were, was by taking the river back upstream. The problem was that both the teens were too worn out to move around like that.

Along with those thoughts, he also wondered what Ferra, Hiro, and Keru were doing. _'Probably looking for us…_' He thought to himself. Closing his eyes, he let sleep take over.

XxX

"-found… They're only showing signs of sun poisoning… No other injuries to report… I understand… Can you repeat the location?... I thought that's what you said. Wouldn't it be better to bring them back to the village? But that's across the border-… Alright, but it'll take me an hour to get there, maybe a little longer since both are immobile… Understood."

Nitis tried to open his eyes, but they wouldn't budge. In a moment, he was being gently lifted off the ground. The movement caused him to moan a little due to his severely burnt skin being forced to move.

"Looks like you're conscious, Boy." The voice said.

He couldn't tell who was talking, but the harshness in the voice seemed familiar enough. They started moving at a quick speed. He could tell since the air passing over his face grew more intense. Even without opening his eyes, he could feel himself slipping back into darkness.

XxX

Naruto blocked one of Haru's attacks by using an incomplete jutstu he was working on. It was another pure chakra attack, similar to the Rasengan only this one didn't have the control and definitely didn't have any containment to it as of yet. And it didn't have the same shape as the rasengan. His goal while he was training was to create as many completed jutsu while he was here since he would be able to tell whether or not they would damage his body later on. Thankfully, any damage he did while in his spiritual form seemed to heal moments later.

He dropped to the ground. "That's quite a powerful technique, and it's not even complete." Haru smiled.

It turned out that they were truly related. That old man had done something to him on their meeting and showed him that their chakra was similar. He then showed him how Haku's was different. It was a long and drawn out explanation that Naruto quickly got bored with.

Naruto wished this man was still alive, then he would have been the blonde's uncle and that would have meant that maybe… he wouldn't have been alone for so long. The fact that at one point he did have a family made the fact that he was the container of a monster… just a little better. At some time or another, he had been a normal person.

'_Another bond. A blood bond. That'd be nice to have something like that back home.'_ Just then, he thought of something. "Haru! I think I know why me and my body feel each other's pain!" He called, excited.

"Eh?"

"Don't be silly, boy. You think that something as deep and intricate as your situation could be so simple that the answer would pop into your mind? And just like that?" Keru said, snapping his fingers as to make his point. His appearance startled him.

Naruto stuck out his lower lip. This old man was harsh. He never listened to what the blonde had to say. "Listen. I just thought of it! It's just an _idea_, old man. Are Ideas really that awful?!"

"Ideas are what lead to death-"

"Everything leads to death to you!" He closed his mouth. Anything he said to this old man was wasted breath.

"I guess it doesn't hurt to listen, father." Narta said, walking up behind the blonde. After she had found out that he was Tarsa's son, she sweetened up to him quickly. At first she had her doubts, but his attitude and the way he spoke… was very similar to her two youngest siblings.

The old man huffed, and that's when she saw it. The grandfather and grandson were both very similar, even though they had different ideas. They were both stubborn, and they had the same sideways glance when irritated.

"Fine." He forced out.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the old man. He wanted to say it before he forgot. "Well… I was thinking about how people have bonds. Even though you can't see them, they're there. Bonds of friendship can't be so easily destroyed, right? And then You all told me that I have a memory chain. Well… what if I have more chains… like one for memories, one for current events, one for physical contact. You know, that kind of stuff. Maybe that death guy took my memory chord, but I'm still connected to my body. I can feel when it does something."

Everyone looked at him. He sounded as if he was a master at this. "Then… why do you need to recover your memory chord, Naruto?" Haru asked. He turned to his father.

"It's because when he goes back, he won't be complete. If what he says is true, then he would go back to normal, but he would have nothing to link his memories from before. Then, his current and future memories wouldn't be stored and all he'd be able to remember were the things all the way up to when he'd rejoin his body. He'd never retain anything more and would always be acting on instincts." He looked at the boy. "A plausible theory… I suppose."

Naruto turned around. "Yeah, well… I have my moments, too." He said. Although nobody could see his face, he had a small blush. He knew that what the old man had said was an apology and a compliment all in one. It was something he'd never gotten from him before. "Right! Back to training!"

XxX

When he woke back up, he knew something was wrong with him. He was all sweaty, and yet, he was freezing. His stomach was twisting into tight knots. After finally being able to gather enough energy to open his eyes, he looked up at who was carrying him. Once he saw him, he figured out why the harshly spoken words were so familiar. He lived with those words every day. Over Keru's shoulder was Lucas's limp form.

Something was coming. He moved around a bit so that Keru would notice him.

"Eh?" He did. He stopped and looked down at the boy squirming in his arms. "What's the matter?" He asked. It was the first time since he had to take him in that he didn't use his typical harsh voice. The boy, although sun burnt, was very pale. He couldn't hold onto him much longer so he put him on his feet. "Calm down." He instructed.

Nitis, in his weakened state, took a couple steps over to the tree line and rested his head on the bark. He took a few deep breaths and walked a little more, enough so that Keru couldn't see him. He placed his hands on a tree as the feeling of dizziness struck him. Something wanted out, and he wasn't about to stop it. He coughed and then threw up.

It was just as unpleasant as the last time. A burning sensation in his throat, a putrid taste in his mouth… It was horrible.

He waited a few minutes before moving. He wanted to make sure the nauseous feeling had passed. Feeling even weaker now, he let his eyes open to see what he'd tossed up. It was the first time he noticed the small flecks of blood. Assuming that it always happened, he ignored it and started to sway back to Keru.

"You're not going to do that again, are you?" He asked.

Nitis shook his head. "N-no."

"Well, just let me know if you're going to do it again. I'm well past the vomit stage." Nitis didn't quite understand, and Keru could see it. He picked him up and started to head towards his destination. "I mean, Tadashi used to throw up on my all the time when he was little, so I think I've had my fair share of that sort of thing,."

Smiling and feeling not as bad as when he woke up, he drifted out of consciousness again. The next time he woke up, he was lying on a hospital bed. "Huh?"

He sat up quickly, but that turned out to be a mistake. His body ached terribly and when he moved, his skin felt as if it was stiff paper that was attempting rip apart. Wincing, he bit on his lower lip as he slowly moved his legs over to the edge of the bed.

Now that he wasn't concentrating on the pain in his shoulders and back, he looked around the room he was in. There were beds just like his that were lined up against each wall. What was more surprising was that each one was filled with a person with some sort of injury… some minor while others severe. There were people standing around in tan outfits with a bright green 'X' on the backs and on the sleeves of their shirts. But it was the man wearing the white outfit with a bright orange 'X' instead of green that caught his attention.

He was calling orders and having what looked like younger men and women run around the room. The beds they were tending to were strait across from his own and lying on them were three people that looked to be his age. He glanced at the beds and that's the first time he noticed all the red blood that covered their beds and the floor.

"They've all lost too much blood, Sir!" A young woman yelled at her superior.

The older man with the orange 'X' glared at her. "Just do what I told you." He growled out.

Nitis pulled his eyes away from the scene for a moment but was quickly drawn back to the drama. One man pulled something away from one of the kid's face that was covered in blood. He couldn't tell what it was until it was placed on the tray next to the person. Nitis could feel his stomach twisting again. He knew what that was now. It was that kid's eye.

"It's nothing pretty, is it?" Someone said from his left. He looked straight forward to meet with pale green eyes.

"Eh?"

The woman turned her head. She was very pretty, especially with the way that her brown hair framed her face. But she had cuts all over her body and her right arm was up in a sling. "Those are my Genin."

"Oh!... I'm- um, will they be okay?" He asked. He didn't care for these situations. He'd met with one a few weeks ago.

The woman turned to look at her students. "I can't say. But my strongest pupil… just lost his eye. I left them so that I could go check up on the man we were supposed to meet with but when I returned, they were like this." She sighed. "But I believe that their wills are strong and that they'll live. Besides…" She said with a pale, faint smile. "Why extract the eye if he was going to die?"

Nitis thought about it for a moment. She was right. Usually, the most critical thing would be dealt with first. "I guess you're right." He said, closing his eyes.

She glanced back at him. "You look pretty worn out yourself, young man. What could you have been doing to acquire such a serious sunburn?"

He didn't know how bad his burn was, but he knew it hurt. "I was helping my frie- AH!" He quickly looked around the room, causing his body a sudden jolt of pain. He finally realized why he was here and who was missing. "Lucas?!"

"Hmm? A friend of yours?" She asked.

He turned his head slowly back to her. "Yeah. But… he's not here."

The doctor across the room said something, causing a look of relief to cross the woman's face. She sighed. "Well, there was a boy in the bed next to you. He slipped out after I came here. Does your friend have green hair?"

Nitis sighed. "Yeah, that's him. At least he's okay."

"I wouldn't say okay. You're both burnt terribly. I'd say you both have sun poisoning."

"Sun poisoning?" He repeated. "What's that?"

She giggled. "Seriously? It's where your skin's gathered too many UV rays and becomes poisoned. That's how people end up with skin cancer and other skin issues. That's pretty much common sense. Lost your memory recently or something?"

"Yeah, I have." He said, not really liking the idea of being laughed at for something so ridiculous.

She continued to giggle. "You're funny-"

"I'm serious!" He nearly yelled. She stopped laughing, a shocked look overtaking her features. "I lost my memories about a year ago. I don't know who I am or where I'm from." He pushed himself off the bed and slowly started to walk out of the bustling room, leaving the woman with the same shocked face as before.

XxX

"I'm terribly sorry for invading your country like this, Giro." Kalari said as she walked down the hospital hall with a man her age that had short, light brown hair and dark blue eyes. Walking behind them was Keru, who was followed by Ashton and Tadashi. They were allowed to come since they were the nearest to her when she informed them of the Genins' status.

"It's no problem. You know, if you'd just let our counties sign an alliance contract, you wouldn't have the need to summon me every time you use this place. I've offered you this deal so many times."

She shook her head. "And I've declined each time. I will not have another country dragged down by our affaires, and Void will always be neutral in other affairs. You know how I feel about this."

He shrugged. "I think those were somebody else's wishes, hmm?"

She glared at him. "Either way, the answer is still no."

Giro shook his head. "Well, if you ever do, Gem country will be the first, right?"

"Sure, whatever." She huffed.

He laughed and patted her head. "Heh, that's what friends do. Anyways, I heard about that terrible flood up there. We've also had a similar situation these past two days, but nothing as severe as taking out an entire village."

"Excuse me, but the villagers were all okay, so really… nothing was taken out." Tadashi said from the back of the group.

"True enough. Now, where are these two little heroes I've been hearing about recently?" He asked as they entered the ENW, the Emergency Ninja Wing.

"They're right over there." Keru said, pointing to the two empty beds. "Well…" His eyes narrowed. "They _were_ there when I left." He glanced over to his sister-in-law. She wasn't pleased.

"Those two! Where'd they run off to?! I thought you said they were both unconscious and unable to move!" She yelled at the dark haired brunette.

He turned his head slightly to avoid a verbal assault to his face. "They were-"

"Excuse me… Were those two boys yours?" The brunette woman asked, peering over her shoulder.

"Myli? What're you doing here?" Giro asked.

"A rouge jumped my three while I went out for information. They're okay, but they're resting." She said, pointing over to the three beds across the room. "Reira's the least injured."

Giro walked over to the beds. The girl who was now sleeping soundly had bandages wrapped all over her body. She pale brown hair was messed up and looked to have small chunks cut out. "But they're okay?" He asked.

"Yes. The doctor informed me recently that the most severe damage was a punctured lung, a few broken ribs, and one of the boys lost their eye." She turned back to Kalari's group. "I'm afraid I accidently offended the young blonde sitting here earlier. I informed him about sun poisoning since he didn't seem to know anything about it, and then I joked about him losing his memory over something so simple-"

"Ah." Tadashi said. Everyone turned to him.

"And what does that mean, boy?" Keru asked.

Tadashi glanced at Ashton. "Well, when Nitis first started to get comfortable with us, he was real depressed that he couldn't remember anything other than those couple names and voices. Ferra told us that he was really upset about something that happened right after that Gem rouge showed up. Then, the longer he was with us, the more irritated he got from it. Whenever it was brought up he'd get pissed, but he wouldn't do much other that glare at someone." The brunette said.

"But you shouldn't worry too much about it, ma'am." Ashton said. "He knows that it was a joke. It just makes him mad that he can't remember anything before October of last year."

She looked down. "I see."

"So where did they go?" Kalari wondered.

Myli pointed to the door that they walked out of. "First the green haired boy walked out right after my kids were brought in. Then, towards the end of all the drama my team caused, I said those things and he walked out as well. So, about an hour ago was when the first one took off, then the second ran out about twenty minutes ago."

"Why'd they walk out like that? They should know that they need to be treated, right?" Giro asked.

"The nurses are looking for them. They came over after those three were stabilized and I told them that they left." Myli said.

Tadashi put his hand up to his face. "Well, I'm not too sure where Luc ran off to, but I bet I can locate Nitis soon." He turned and started to walk out. "I'll be back soon." He said.

Giro pushed the girl's hair back while she slept. "Reira?"

The girl opened her pale green eyes. "Daddy? Why're you here?" She asked.

"No reason. Go back to sleep."

"Okay." She closed her eyes and drifted off quickly.

"Now, Kalari, if you won't become our ally, even though you pretty much are already, I'll have you do something since you crossed our border illegally and used our facilities." He said with a smirk.

She knew this was coming. There was always a penalty for her being over here. They were always small things that she usually sent Seth or Keru to attend to. "Fine. Name your terms!"

He grinned. "I want some of your ninja to participate in our fall festival."

XxX

Tadashi opened the door to the rooftop. Recently, he'd been finding Nitis up on their roof, staring at the sky and deep in thought. He wasn't sure he'd be up here, but this was the first place he could think of. And sure enough, there he was. The blonde was lying on his back, breathing deeply.

He walked over to him and lightly nudged him with his foot. Bright blue eyes snapped open. "You know it's really stupid to be out here in the sun with those burns. You're just making them worse." He said.

He smiled when the little blonde glared up at him. "Shut up."

"Now now. That lady feels really bad about what she said. I told you that it's supposed to be taken as a joke. Don't get so mad at yourself for something you can't control." He waited for a comeback, but this is usually when Nitis gave up.

"You just don't get it, Tadashi."

"A comeback, huh? That's right, I don't get it. I've never lost my memory so this is something you have to figure out on your own. People like me and Ashton can't do anything but try and help you."

Nitis sat up. "I know." He sighed. "It's just so irritating. Then you guys give me the same line that you'll help me, but in reality… Even with your help I'm not getting very far. I still don't remember anything. My body remembers, but I can't think back past the day your dad found me. If I try I get a major headache."

The Jonin sighed. "Well, let's worry about that later, okay. You need to get taken care of." He helped up the blonde. "By the way, have you seen Lucas?"

Nitis nodded. "Yeah. He's in the cafeteria."

"For an hour?"

"Yup. He was eating ice cream from a straw and had a few popsicles on his arms. He looked a little funny."

Tadashi led the way to the cafeteria to pick up the other Abyss Genin. When they arrived, Lucas was arguing with the lady in charge of the food. "Listen lady! I am burning up. I need something cold on my body until I get checked out by the doctor! "

"I don't care. We don't have anything left cold enough to satisfy you-"

"Then give me some Ice!"

"Boy! You've used it all! Ice just doesn't appear in seconds. It takes time to freeze."

Lucas groaned. "I'm a suffering man, and you're going to let me die." He turned and bumped right into Tadashi's chest. "Oof."

"You gonna make it back to the ENW, Luc?" Tadashi asked.

"Tadashi? When'd you get here?"

"Who cares. Let's get back before aunt Kalari gets mad."

As they walked back, Lucas glared at Nitis. "How is it that You're not as miserable as me even though we've got similar burns?"

Nitis shrugged. "I don't know. I feel a lot better now than when I woke up. My body was really stiff but it's relaxed now."

The violet eyed boy glared. "You're a jerk. You must have quick healing cells or something."

XxX

Nitis and Lucas followed behind Keru as they walked across the border back into the Abyss village. They were instructed to stay inside until their burns faded and held no red in them whatsoever. They had to have some gel substance rubbed onto their burns three times a day for a week as well. And also… no missions.

"Uh, Keru… don't you need to be back with everyone else?" Lucas asked.

He continued to walk forward. "No. I have to take you two home first. Afterwards, I have to report back down there."

"We can make it back on our own. Don't worry about us." Lucas replied.

He glanced over his shoulder. "I wouldn't, even if you asked me to, but Kalari told me I had to and I don't want to listen to her rant on about not listening."

"Then what about Ferra. And Hiro?" Nitis asked.

He stopped walking. "Hmm. I guess I should have asked about the other two." He started walking forward. "Well, they'll just have to help out down there until further notice."

The two teens glanced at each other. Both were thinking that this man could be mean sometimes.

"Now apparently you both are to go to my place where Kanda will be watching you until Kalari returns-"

"Can't I just go home?" Lucas asked, not seeming to fond of this idea.

"Hmm… nope." Keru replied.

As if not believing the two teens would go to the place they were supposed to go, he chaperoned them into the house… just to be sure. "Kanda! Here's your patients."

The navy blue haired woman peered around the doorway to the living room. Her wavy hair was pulled back into a messy bun. "Oh, you poor dears. Come in here and I'll take care of you." She said, waving to them.

The two went and say down onto the couch and waited until Keru and Kanda finished chatting. They sat, stiff, hoping they wouldn't be put under a strict rule. Staying indoors was bad enough.

When she walked back in, she smiled. "You two are going to be under my care until my sister returns. It seems like it'll take a few days before they return." The two sighed. Then, she smirked. "Now strip down to your shorts, I've got to rub some medical lotion on both of you."

XxX

The man with dull red hair looked into the river. He bent down a little closer to get a look at the color of his eyes. "Damn, kid." He stared at the refection of his brown eyes. "I thought I made them green. Eh, I must be getting old."

He released the transformation and was now staring into black eyes. "Che. Maybe he'll remember a little faster now."

* * *

Attention: Thanks so much for reading this and not complaining about taking so long to get chapters out. It's taken some time since college is my top priority and my main situation there is getting through my two manditory classes. Thankfully, I passes my first one and am now working on the last, which is finite. Of course there were other reasons. Stress and the economy suking (since everyone blames the economy, I think I can too) And then recently my aunt was put into the hospital for an Aneurism. So now I've been spending alot of time at the hospital. 2008 had turned out to litterally be the worst year of my life to date. I'm just hoping 2009 will treat my nerves and mind a little better.

On another note, I've decided that when I get the time and when it's finished, I'm going to combine this with the revised first part and make it into one story, which is His undetermined path. Even though I've only posted three chapters of that one, I've got it outlined until it meets up with this story. I'll alert everyone when I do it. But chances are, it'll take a long time.

Thanks again- Blackblaze


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